


Hoenn: New Game+

by RosefinchRobin



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, It has so many elements, Not Beta Read, OC Reborn as a character, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Self-Insert, Tags to be added, This is a mess of game and anime, We die like grammatically incorrect men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 40,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23916301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosefinchRobin/pseuds/RosefinchRobin
Summary: Touching the New Game on the screen was possibly the biggest mistake she could have made, but who knew what the gray Continue might have led to- she couldn't remember, and who didn't want to escape into a world like Pokemon? A whole world of fantasy and adventure like she never got before, and sure maybe the original May might- definitely would- have done it differently, but who could turn down this chance?
Comments: 64
Kudos: 166





	1. Choose Your Pokedex Wisely

Waking up in the dark, the type of inky blackness that made it impossible to tell the difference between your eyes being open or closed, was enough to make her heart pound in her chest, beating so fast and rapid that she thought it might break through her ribs like a monster from the Alien movies. Panic wasn't a new sensation, but this was so sudden, so strange and terrifying that she couldn't help but react, sucking in quick short breathes and clutching at her chest. Her shirt felt damp in her fist, the fabric heavy with something she couldn't see, and only felt now that she was holding it. 

It was only when she lurched forward, body tipping with the rush of anxiety and fear, that she noticed she was standing at all. Her feet sinking into the soft ground that shifted under each step like sand but was somehow firm enough she didn't fall despite her stumble. The silence was almost as deafening as the darkness was absolute. She could feel the shifting grains of sand under her feet- shoes? She was wearing sneakers, right? It felt like she was. But she couldn't hear it. Couldn't hear the sand shift or crunch under her feet like she was so sure it should. 

A few more blind steps and stumbles, trying to find anything as she attempted to slow her rapid breathing, and finally, there was sound. It wasn't the sound of her steps on unstable ground or anything that you'd hear in nature. It was music. Familiar notes that she knew, but couldn't quite place. 

It started low and quiet, barely audible, and steadily grew louder until it almost drowned out the sound of her racing heart and slowing breathes. 

As it settled at a steady volume, something lit up, dim but blinding as it invaded the darkness just a bit away, and she found herself blinking and reaching up to block her gaze. It stung her eyes, but the fact that it was there, a light just a bit away, dragged her forward to rush towards it. 

Her vision cleared steadily, but still, she couldn't make out her surroundings. The light glowed midair, no real source to be seen, and once her eyes adjusted, it barely penetrated the darkness she'd stepped out of. The ground below her still felt like it could give and shift with every move, but looking down she saw solid concrete. Or it looked like concrete. More than that, her sneakers were scuffed and dipped in something inky and dark, a visceral color she couldn't quite make sense of it. 

Movement drew her attention back up, to the source of the light, taking a familiar shape of what appeared to be a screen floating mid-air. Like a hologram in some sci-fi movie, it hovered just in reach. The image before her was strange but familiar. A collection of devices floated in a circle, they moved at a slow, sluggish pace, just hovering there. 

Pokedexes were unique for each game, each gen. She didn't know all of them by sight, but she knew well enough to recognize them for what they are. From the bright red color and the typical electronic device appearance they had. Offhand, the ones she recognized most were the ones from Kanto, Alola, and Kalos, the others blended in a way she couldn't place them. 

It was with a hesitant hand that she reached up, confused but curious, to touch one. She reached for the Kalos one, with its slim design and holographic styled screen, but the circle moved and her fingers brushed the bulkier one beside it. Though she couldn't say it had a physical form to touch, it somehow warmed under her fingertips and glowed like making a selection on a game screen. The image of the pokedexes flickered out, instead shimmering back into place was a familiar screen every pokemon fan knew. The pixelized image of Professor Oak was nostalgic as he took the center of the screen, a pokeball in hand. 

"Are you a boy? Or are you a girl?" 

Her mind flickered through countless memes and jokes she'd heard and made over the years. Professor Oak being senile, asking for the name of the player character as well as his grandson, both of whom were characters he would have seen grow up. As stupid as it was, given all the panic, the confusion, she laughed. It was quiet, almost hysterical in itself, but it was a laugh and she clung to it, her hand reaching up to brush against the word 'girl', almost absently. 

The word glowed for a moment, a blue color that somehow made the light seem softer for just a moment before it faded out again. Oak was gone, and the words on the screen were different. A load screen with 'continue' faded out and grey. 

Her hand reached up again, fingers brushing against 'continue' but it did nothing, and she wondered- what was she continuing? What would hitting new game do? This had to be a dream, it was too unreal and as her panic finally subsided into the cool numbness of its aftermath, she found herself staring at her hand on the screen, at the inky black that stained her fingers and down her arm, same as it had her sneakers. Even where it didn't click, it seemed to have stained her skin and under her nails, dirty and black, dripping from her with a slow type of ooze. Seeing it made her heart seize in her chest, lungs tight and air gone for just a moment, her hand dropping away as she got lost in the sight of black dripping down to be lost against the floor. 

On the screen 'new game' glowed and flickered out. The light grew brighter, too bright until it was blinding in the same way that the darkness had been. The music pounded now, loud and impossible to ignore or think around until her mind was blissfully blank. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is really just a writing exercise for me. I love these types of fics, and with everything going on I just really really need something to give myself some sort of routine out of working in retail. I'm going to try my hand at a chapter per episode, and see how it goes?
> 
> It is very self gratuitous. Sorry?
> 
> Wish me luck, I suppose?


	2. Into the Pokemon World

\---> NEW GAME

When she picked 'new game' she wasn't quite sure what to expect. Really, she hadn't expected anything. The whole thing was so... dreamlike and strange. So unreal.

What came after was as well.

It felt like she slept for a really long time, with little moments of consciousness that she couldn't quite place. When she gained most of her self-awareness back, she wasn't... she wasn't _her_ anymore. She was small, and chubby, a tiny little child with big blue eyes and light brown hair that this person who was her mom (but wasn't her mom?) liked to do up in pretty styles.

It took her a bit to put names and faces to associations. It became second nature to answer to the name _May_ , and to learn that the baby boy who shared her room was named Max. She knew the woman who took care of her, who loved her and who she grew quickly to love in return was now 'mom'. It took longer, though, to adjust to the face of the man most often on the telephone screen (that felt so strange, was that normal? It didn't feel normal) as 'dad', though her mom liked to tell her things like 'say hi to daddy' and 'tell daddy about what you learned today!'.

It was weird, not only because none of these things matched up with the memories that she had... but also because despite her very adult mind, her body still reacted like a child. It was like there blocks between the logic she had and the way she could react and handle things. She cried so easily and sometimes lashed out in a way that would have made her embarrassed if she had the reason for it. But she was small, only three when she first began to remember things, and.... wasn't that what three year olds did?

It wasn't always like that though. While May couldn't make sense of the written language of the world she was in, she was constantly praised for her large vocabulary and how clearly she spoke. She learned things like numbers and colors and such very quickly. It wasn't really learning, she already knew them, but that was what her mom called it. Adults were quick to praise her, and the tiny part of her that even in her past life had craved approval preened under it- even if it was over silly things like knowing all her colors and counting to ten without her fingers.

The world itself didn't fall into place around her until she was about four and a half. It wasn't that she was wholly oblivious to it, but as she'd been piecing together her memories from her life before and figuring out her very simple life now, things just hadn't quite hit her yet.

But then Dad came home.

It was Max's first birthday, and he was coming from far away, 'all the way from Hoenn!' her mom had said. The place sounded familiar, but it faded from her mind pretty quickly. And wasn't that annoying? A four year old's attention span wasn't exactly great and no level of knowledge could make it stick sometimes. She'd learn to at least try and ignore how frustrating it was. In her first life she'd had a touch of ADHD, or so her family liked to joke, could it be the same? She wasn't actually sure, but it was really annoying.

Dad coming home wasn't the first tip-off, exactly. She knew what he looked like from the video calls, and it was nice to watch Max, her tiny little brother that she mostly ignored, interact to him with the same level of uncertainty. Max, like May as far as May's memory went back, really only knew this man through long-distance contact and the photos up on the walls and shelves.

But he swooped in and pulled May into a big hug as soon as he'd seen her, and tickled her sides until she giggled and squealed, falling into the excitement he had through sheer proximity. He was _happy_ to be home, and she was happy to finally meet him, to see the way Mom lit up, and the energy her two parents (new parents?) had was contagious.

And then one of Dad's pokemon came out of it's ball. At the time, it was just a strange creature that appeared in a flash of red light, and May's mind stuttered to a stop. It looked like some kind of deranged monkey, and May almost didn't realize that it was her when she started crying. The loud piercing cry of her own wails was startling and immediately triggered Max, who often seemed to follow her when she got upset. She normally tried not to get so worked up, but something about that creature had frightened her, straight to her core, and the adult mind that so often held control fell back to the primal young panic of a frightened child.

The pokemon was put away almost immediately, disappearing back into its ball, as her dad scooped her up into his arms. He tried to hush her, told her it was okay, to calm down. It was just a slakoth, it wasn't something to be afraid of. His words didn't work, the panic, the fear had settled in and it wasn't until her mom took her from his arms that May could calm down enough to think.

It was with her face pressed against her mother's shoulder, breathing in the scent of her perfume, and hearing her familiar voice humming in her ear, that May realized exactly what she'd just seen.

A _pokemon_. A real live _**pokemon**_.

Sure it wasn't one she knew well, her mind rushed with images from the games, the anime, even a few manga chapters she'd read through high school. Pikachu came to mind first of course, but then togepi, and starmie and vulpix and all sorts of other pokemon she'd grown so attached to. But it was a _**pokemon**_ and what did that even mean?

It was then that the faces of these people she knew to be her parents here made sense. Not because they weren't her original parents, but because of who they were. Of who **she** was.

The Pokemon season after Johto hadn't held her attention- she'd gotten back into the anime when they'd gotten to X and Y, but she had seen bits and pieces of everything before that. Had gone back to watch Black and White's seasons enough to know she'd really liked the characters even if she hadn't managed to play the game. But even if she hadn't seen all of the Hoenn seasons... she suddenly knew all too well who she was meant to be now.

She was _**May**_. She was the second female companion- and wasn't that a kicker- she couldn't have been Misty? Or Iris? Being Serena would have been so fun, or one of the kids from Alola. Her mind struggled to bring up any memories she had of May but they were far and few between. She remembered May was the daughter of a gym leader, and she knew that Max was a big part of that part of the show. Everyone disliked him. She couldn't remember what she had thought of May and Max when she'd first seen them- she'd been 'above' pokemon for a bit around then.

It was after that that May started to really differentiate the difference between herself and her old self. Between what was May, and what was Not May, and the first time it felt so important to know the difference.

What was May? The Real May? What did she do? Who had she been? And was Not May being here a replacement? Had she unknowingly and without control taken the place of someone who'd never gotten the chance to live?

She started to cry again, loud and sad and forlorn- the type of cry that a little girl shouldn't be able to voice. It startled her new parents in such a way that they would never forget it. Their little girl, only just about to turn four in a few months, and she cried as if the whole world had fallen apart. They couldn't know what she cried for, or why.

For the family she only kind of remembered in pieces- a different mother and father, a big sister and big brother whose names she couldn't remember but who she knew, had known so intimately and now realized in full that she would never see again. She cried from the confusion of not understanding what really happened or why she was there. For the possible life, she may have snuffed out by being there and not the Real May.

She cried herself to sleep in her -May's?- mother's arms, into a restless sleep. Dreamed of the darkness and her choices. 

\--->SAVE GAME?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like this chapter as much, but the whole point is to write every day! And also I feel like this point is just a bit hard to get into before it really starts. 
> 
> I skipped ahead in the Advanced Generations season to try and get a better look at May's parents. They're so cute. Like omg so so cute, I really like them. 
> 
> I do want to point out that from here it'll stick mostly to the episodes and such. There are going to be some differences since I'm gonna try and take from both the manga and game a bit here and there. Just little details, probably, to flesh things out? 
> 
> We'll see how it goes


	3. Moving to Hoenn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From Olivine City to Petalburg is a big step.

\---> CONTINUE

Once the realization of who May was really settled certain things fell into place for Not May. It still took a long time for her to adjust once she realized where she was, but she was able to piece things together more easily. For instance, her next interaction with an actual Pokemon wasn't nearly as horrible as the first.

Dad didn't let his Pokemon out at all that visit after his slakoth had triggered such an upsetting reaction, but now that she knew Pokemon were out there it was easy to find them. While he left after a week, giving lots of hugs and kisses and promises, Mom was a constant presence and still had a lot to do. The first time she took May and Max on errands after Dad had left May found herself scouring the crowds to look for any sign of Pokemon.

Her second time really seeing one up close came in the form of Officer Jenny's Growlithe. It was exponentially better- the fluffy police Pokemon was friendly and beautiful. May had an almost immediate flash back to sitting in a dark theater watching Detective Pikachu, squealing over the swishing fluffy tails of the Growlithe on the screen. The fact that Officer Jenny was patient and let her gush over the fire pokemon helped immensely, especially given how her mother watched nervously from the side- afraid of another panic.

From there, Pokemon became more noticeable. The fact that she hadn't noticed them before was nearly impossible to grasp, given that they were everywhere. People walked with them, carried them, they flittered from one spot to the next. They weren't all beautiful or fascinating though. 

The more mammal looking ones were amazing, fluffy and familiarish in shape. The bugs... May had felt her first real fear of a bug when she found herself face to face with a three foot butterfly. In the anime and games Butterfree had been so cute, and Not May had always been fond, but when she found herself nearly the same height as it, with it's big red compound eyes and huge white wings, it had been too much. Not May was sure she hadn't ever been needlessly **girlishly** afraid of bugs before, but that butterfree had been too much at the time, and she couldn't really deny hiding behind her mother, even as Max had babbled gibberish excitedly when he'd spotted the butterfree.

From there, May's relationship with pokemon was touch and go. There was so much excitement in knowing that pokemon were real- that these creatures she'd loved on and off since she was a child in her past life were here, they existed. She could grow up and have one of her own- go to on to be trainer!

It was also sombering though. While Not May had loved pokemon, she'd also been fascinated by the plot holes and darker twists the series had taken through the years... Wooper with it's neurotoxin mucus, eevee and it's changing face. Bewear and Mimikyu had been two favorites in her Sun and Ultra Moon runs, they were terrifying to think on as something she could actually meet in real life. It didn't slow her down though.

The next time her dad came home, for her fourth birthday, she pestered him. It was obvious that he was afraid of letting his pokemon out after the last time it had happened, even seeing her growing excitement over pokemon through phone calls and even her carrying around a growlithe plushie that she'd gotten from her mom.

It took May sneaking one of his pokeballs from him while he was being all _lovey_ with mom in the kitchen. The pokemon that came out was not the slakoth from before, it was bigger and white with a red poof of hair on its head. It was bigger than she was, just a bit. Like a big white monkey that stared at her with wide eyes. She wasn't scared this time, she was ready for it.

“Viiig?” It swung it's arms, nearly knocked May over and she shrieked in surprise.

Both parents came rushing back into the living room to see what happened, and May could see the panic in their eyes. She heard the sounds of her dad's voice raising, could see the color draining from his face, and immediately, she cut him off by laughing. And then she did something stupid- May didn't know much about this pokemon, not at all, but it was one of her dad's pokemon, a pokemon trained and well cared for, and she told herself not to worry about whatever the pokedex entries might be- and rushed at it, winding her arms around it's middle and burying her face in soft white fur. Her laughter was muffled as the pokemon went still and everyone fell silent.

In moments the pokemon was bouncing around with her in its arms, and May had purposefully reassured both parents that she was okay with her dad's pokemon. It was somewhat to plan, but mostly had been impulse. It was the start of her planning her future though.

“What a good trainer she'll be!” Her dad said one night, his voice hushed but proud, after he'd tucked May into bed. He thought she was asleep, in her bed with her growlithe plush, too still for a normal child her age.

A good trainer.

May didn't know for sure if she wanted to be a normal pokemon trainer, per say, but it was the best place to start. It was the only place she could think of to start, really.

It would be years before her journey could begin, but she was already doing her best to plan it out. She had a small bit of a timeline in her mind. She knew that the Real May's journey was in Hoenn, and she often overheard her parents talking about moving there- absently and almost dreamlike without them really saying for sure that it was going to happen. It would, Not May knew, because that was where her dad's gym would be. Norman was a gym leader in Hoenn, who used Normal Type pokemon, as silly as it was- she wondered sometimes if his name was what led him to that attachment- but it was so silly to think about that even as years passed and she grew closer to him, she never asked.

May was turning eight when Norman passed the tests to become a Gym Leader in Hoenn. Max was still so small, only five, but a chatter box who was sometimes more annoying than sweet. Not May's patience with him came only from years of maturity in her past life, and she frequently wondered how the real May had dealt with him. She'd been the youngest in her past life, she was sure, and though she couldn't remember her sister or brother's names, she remembered driving them crazy in a lot of the ways Max tried to do to her.

From chattering endlessly about any small detail about pokemon he could find that he liked, to talking about their dad, or whatever he'd learned in school that day. It never ended, he was like a walking encyclopedia, and Not May wondered if she'd ever been that bad as a kid?

Now though, she couldn't be too annoyed- even if she knew all of it. Like Max, she went to school and learned all the sorts of things she'd learned once already- mathematics and science and language. Writing and reading were hard, the language in this world nothing like anything in her first world. Geography was so different too, but she poured over anything she could get for it- even hanging a big world map she'd gotten for her seventh birthday over her bed. She soaked up any type of world history she could find but found most of the normal history to be just as boring as it had been in her previous life. Dates and 'significant events' to do with the humans of the world were... essential apparently, but not nearly as interesting as the stories of how the world became, the legendary pokemon that formed it and how pokemon and humans had evolved their close symbiotic relationship.

Needless to say, May was just as much of a nerd as her little brother was becoming. It was nice to know that it wasn't all her, though, that Max was relatively the same- at least in his knowledge and excitement over things- it wasn't as if she'd instilled it in him.

At nine and half the gym in Petalburg City was set up. Norman sent them pictures and talked about it in depth- how excited he was to have and it how great it was to have his own gym- he couldn't wait to show them. He mentioned his new assistant, Kenny, who had just started working with him to help out around the place, and laughed when May and Max got visibly jealous.

It was nearing May's tenth birthday that they were packing up their home in Olivine City and ready to move out to Petalburg. The trip was pretty long the way they were going- mostly by truck. But Norman came back to help them, and May and Max both took advantage. Max hung off Norman's arms and back, chattering away, while May asked any question she could think of about Hoenn.

To get to Hoenn from Johto they had to take a boat, they left Olivine Port and took the long trip all the way to Lilycove City. It was big and bustling, and even though she was tired from the excitement of being on the boat- she got to see so many water pokemon while peering over the edge- it was still a thrill. From there it was all car travel.

In all in, the trip took a few days, and everyone was a bit cranky by the time they made it to Petalburg City. Their new home was huge compared to their apartment back in Olivine, everyone was a bit too tired to really explore right away, arriving pretty late at night, and Max had to be carried inside, and May was loathe to admit it that she only put up a bit of a fuss when Norman picked her up to take inside too.

Not May had never been to a real Japanese house before, and Olivine City was pretty 'western' in style. So the new house in Petalburg was exciting in how different it was. There were a few little differences, like the room of tatami that was more towards the back of the house, it opened up into the back yard where you could see the high wall that surrounded the land. Shoji screens could be closed, but seemed to be open most of the time. The genkan in the front of the house was pretty common back in Johto too, and when May saw the kitchen- a big affair here compared to the small one they'd had in the apartment, she was momentarily struck by the differences.

There was so much counter space, and a big sink, and a fridge nearly twice the size of the one they'd had in Olivine. It was warm and bright with big windows to let in sunlight. She was so struck by the image that the morning after they'd arrived, she'd frozen in the doorway. Norman and Max were at the table, it was early but she was still the last to wake up. Caroline stood at the stove dishing out bowls of rice, and May found herself momentarily caught in a memory of Not May's.

Of a big kitchen with blue walls and a man at the stove while two teens bickered at the table over the jam and toast, the smell of fresh waffles filling the air. She could almost taste them and it brought a sense of homesickness that came over her every so often. It normally didn't hit quite so hard, the memories often vague, but May stood there in the doorway, eyes growing teary, looking out over her new family. Norman already drinking a cup of coffee, and Max half asleep on the table. It wasn't the same by any means, but it was good. Strange but good.

Adjusting to life in Petalburg was... it was an adventure of it's own. The house was nice, and her room was big- more than enough room for a world map to go up and a bunch of new books and plush toys to go around. The city itself was much more _green_ than Olivine had ever been, and the people were already in love with her father so it was only natural, it seemed, that they loved his family. It didn't take long for Caroline, May and Max to be semi-recognizable, though that was somehow much stranger than anything May had ever experienced in the two lifetimes she'd lived.

With her tenth birthday looming, May was itching to go. She would have preferred her pokemon journey be in Johto, where she could pick a starter she had wanted since Not May's childhood (Chikorita), and catch all sorts of pokemon that she knew from there. But she had settled on having to travel through Hoenn first. It was probably the only thing that made the move less jarring, she'd known it was coming eventually from the very start.

Still, she wished she could have another pokemon to start with. As her birthday neared, May mentioned to her dad one day that she would like to get a pokemon of her own- maybe one more like the ones he had. Maybe not a Slakoth or any of it's evolutions, but her dad had more pokemon than that. Norman had quite a few, actually. She'd grown particularly fond of his Spinda and it's wobbly swaying movements, and the Kangaskhan that he kept at the gym, who's baby would let May boop it's nose. Or better yet- his Sawsbuck. May had no idea how her father had gotten a pokemon from Unova, but the first time she'd seen it she'd been utterly in love. It was so majestic and beautiful, and let her touch it's antlers and the soft white fur around it's neck.

Norman had just chuckled, especially when Max joined in- he wanted to be as good a trainer as his dad. When he started, he wanted a Slakoth so he could follow in Norman's foot steps. May thought that was a bit much, but she just rolled her eyes and let their dad ruffle their hair while their mother gave an amused laugh.

“To make it as good trainers, you have to find your own way, not just follow my path.” He told them, voice warm, “Besides, Professor Birch is all set for you to come get your starter from him- you wouldn't want to disappoint him, would you, May?”

She hated it, but couldn't do anything but give into the promise of a starter pokemon from the Professor. She'd spoken to Professor Birch once on video call while her dad was visiting him and checked in with the family. The man looked friendly enough, big and jovial, and he mentioned having a son about her age. May hadn't met him, but was sure it was the Rival Character to her Protagonist status- that meant it was Ruby, but she couldn't remember his name. She was pretty sure that was what the set up was meant to be, anyway.

The only thing about it that May really liked, was the knowledge that the starter pokemon a Pokemon Professor gave out were meant to be good for beginners. Though May loved pokemon- now more than she could have fathomed as Not May- she still knew they were living animals and she had never had one living at home. Her dad always took care of his when he visited, only showing her and Max what to do with them when they asked or got invested, and no amount of books she read could really get her ready for it.

On the days leading up to her tenth birthday, she got her hands on all the things she thought she might need for a pokemon journey. It was so commonplace in this world, but memories from her past life, told her she had to be prepared for anything. Her parents helped with most of it, a tent and some light camping gear. They gave her a map and a guide book to Hoenn that she poured over every day until she'd read the book cover to cover, only to have it snatched from her by Max.

Early in the morning on her tenth birthday, Norman gave her a box wrapped in pink paper. The gift inside was... not what one would expect for a ten-year-old girl, but it was practical in a way that Not May could appreciate it. A pair of sturdily made shoes, they were made for running and hiking, something that she knew she would need a lot more than anything cute or frilly. 

“I know they're not what you probably wanted,” Norman stated, as she peered into the box, “I know you wanted a pokemon from me more than anything else. But you're going to need them if you're going to travel to do all the great things I know you can do.”

It was a weirdly touching moment over a pair of shoes. A bit strange but sweet and wonderful all at the same time.

Setting the box aside, May hugged her dad, a real hug, tight and long. With memories always swimming in her head of Not May's life, of a father who was always there, not away training pokemon, she'd always felt just a bit distant from Norman. He was her dad, sure, and she loved him well enough, and he was her best way to learn about pokemon and the world, but it was at that moment she realized how much she really did _**love**_ him. She wanted to know him better, to spend more time with him, maybe when she got to find herself in this world as a trainer, or whatever else she might go on to be.

For now, on her tenth birthday, she was just excited to receive a silly gift of sneakers and a hug.

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I was wrong, I ended up having a lot more to write than I expected between the prologue and the first episode, sorry... this one is also so much longer like wow... we'll see how well I do on the next chapters. Sorry about that


	4. Get This Show On The Road - Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to Littleroot was easy, meeting Ash Ketchum is decidedly less so. She was not ready for this. Or any of this really, she thought she was. Oops.

\---> CONTINUE

The trip between Petalburg City and Littleroot Town wasn't really that far. She had it marked on her map, and she'd made the trip to Oldale Town with her dad and Max a few days ago, which was half the journey. Still, it wasn't a trip she'd ever made by herself. As a child in the Pokemon World there was a sense of fearlessness in traveling alone... as someone with the memories of a past life, May was a little more worried. She had learned enough to know about the pokemon in the area that she might run into, but that didn't cover a lot of other dangers. 

Norman assured her, again and again, that there shouldn't be anything dangerous between Petalburg and Littleroot, she should be fine to make it there safely. It wasn't soothing in the least to hear him brush off her concerns, but for once, Max and his know it all behavior, that in truth May had encouraged, had come to her rescue.

“As long as you don't run into anything with an offensive attack and you don't annoy anything, it shouldn't be dangerous!”

May had taken one look at her brother's wholly unconcerned expression of confidence, before turning her eyes back to her father, one hand reaching out to grasp at his arm, “Please, dad. I won't keep it- I have to come back this way to get to Rustboro, I can give it back before I go. Just so I have something with me on the way?”

Norman's expression was blank at first, as he glanced between the two children and finally at his wife. May didn't see what face Caroline may have made, but when he looked back at May it was with a look of resignation.

“Having a pokemon with you might draw more attention than not, are you sure you want to risk that?” It felt like he was reaching, hoping May would change her mind.

She didn't, in fact, she wouldn't be shaken from her goal to have a pokemon to make that first trip out by herself. “I'd feel a lot safer! Even if I draw attention, I'll still be more prepared if something happens!”

This was how May found herself traveling through the woods with a Pokeball attached safely to the strap of her bag. It wasn't one of the pokemon she would have liked- May would be lying if she said she didn't have preferences in her father's pokemon, and that she hadn't kind of been hoping he would give her Sawsbuck or Spinda, that she was maybe just a little bit disappointed that instead, he gave her a Zigzagoon. It wasn't horrible, she didn't really dislike the pokemon or anything, she just really loved the other two.

Still, she felt better knowing she had something with her, as she followed the path through the forest of Route 102, the very early morning leaving the forest still a bit dim. It was somehow creepy, as Not May she could remember a few camping trips, with big dark forests and warm campfires, but it wasn't enough to give any kind of soothing quality. If her bike had had a basket on it, she would have left Zigzagoon out to ride with her. In the end, he stayed in the pokeball until she reached Oldale Town around mid-morning.

They walked through the town, Zigzagoon staying close to her side as she got something to drink at the pokemart that wasn't water. In her bag, May had a full breakfast packed, as well as a canteen of water- it all looked so good that as soon as she found a place to sit down, just outside of Oldale, she and Zigzagoon shared the meal. From there, they walked a bit. Route 101 wasn't too long, or very busy, and May took her time walking along the path, doing her best to avoid the tall grasses she knew a pokemon would be hiding in.

Zigzagoon ran around her feet and bike, sniffing around, it's ears swiveling this way and that to pick up any possible threats. It was amusing but did make the trip a little longer than it needed to be, but that was okay as far as May was concerned- it was so nice to walk and see the forest around them, and Zigzagoon's excitement was contagious.

However, at around noon May knew she was going to run late at their pace- it'd be horrible if she kept people waiting and even more so if Professor Birch called her either of parents to ask about her location. The last thing she needed was her dad leaving to look for her. So, with a great deal of reluctance, May put zigzagoon back in his pokeball and took to riding her bike again.

Not ten minutes later, May ran into the exact problem that had worried her about traveling through the forest by herself. A Duskull came out of nowhere from behind her, the ghost pokemon's very presence sent a chill down her spine, leaving May losing control of her bike and going off the path.

She crashed face-first into a tree, skinning her knees and palms when she tumbled off the bike and into the grass. The good thing about being ten, the pain was easy to ignore as she found herself flat in the grass staring up at the odd ghost pokemon. It was the middle of the day, and May had never heard anyone mention a pokemon like that lurking around this area- it wasn't in her guide book either, she would have remembered a ghost type. Worst of all, her Zigzagoon wasn't well suited to a pokemon like that.

Still, she let it out of the pokeball as soon as she got her bearings, the raccoon pokemon making a curious whine when it saw how red her face was before it turned its attention to the ghost pokemon just a bit away, watching them curiously. It didn't look like it was coming close, but with stinging pain and the fright she'd gotten, May didn't want to take the chance.

“Zigzagoon, use a sand attack!” She'd never given an order like that before, never even in the mock battles they did in school or for play, her voice came out sure but scared, the pitch going higher as she scrambled to her feet.

Following the sense of panic, Zigzagoon kicked up dirt towards the Duskull. It wasn't exactly an offensive attack, but at the very least the Duskull hurried away. It could have attacked- it could have been angry at May and Zigzagoon for retaliating at all. But it didn't, and May almost couldn't catch her breath with how relieved she was. As soon as the ghost type was gone and the raccoon pokemon before her's fur had settled, May scooped Zigzagoon up into her arms, burying her face into coarse fur, “Thank you, thank you, thank you! I was so scared!”

It may have been silly, but her first run-in with a wild pokemon had spooked her more than she liked. She felt stupid, in this world being Ten meant something, you were an Adult. But her mind reminded her that ten was such a young age, that this world was full of terrifying creatures that could be her friend or her enemies. Being scared was okay. It had to be. 

The pokemon in her arms wiggled and squirmed, before licking her face and chittering away at her, whether it was excited from the near battle or just trying to reassure her, May didn't know, but she returned the attention with a laugh and running her fingers through the pokemon's fur. She didn't put it back in the pokeball until she could see the edge of the woods. The road up ahead still opened up to a lot of grassland and trees, but the forest thinned out and the road felt firmer under her feet.

With a bit of reluctance, May returned Zigzagoon to his pokeball, and tucked him back safely on her belt. With the stinging in her hands fading, only flaring when she grabbed the handlebars, she got back on her bike and took off towards Littleroot's pokemon lab.

It was a great deal of excitement, and relief, when the big building finally came into sight. She was a little late, so she hoped they'd let her call her mom to let her know she made it okay, and she could move on. Her plans to make it to Rustboro before night were questionable at this point. It had taken longer to get to Littleroot, and she couldn't help but realize she'd probably taken too long lingering in Oldale Town and the run-in with Duskull, and choosing to walk so far, really hadn't helped. Staying home for the night and then moving one would likely make a lot more sense. 

Professor Birch wasn't at the lab though. The technician who came out to greet her told her to wait, he'd be back, he was just off in the woods and wanted her to wait. He seemed polite about it, and he was kind of cute with his green hair and big glasses. So May lingered for a few minutes, pulling on the patience she knew she should have more of.

“Did he say how long he'd be? Can I at least see the pokemon? I'd like to meet them before I make my choice?”

The technician shook his head, “No, he and Brendan were helping another trainer look for their pikachu, he took the pokemon for you with him. But he should be back pretty soon.”

“A pikachu?” May chewed on her lip, looking out towards the forest, “Are you sure he'll be back?”

Or even okay? It had to be Ash, right? Not May's memories of the sporadic episodes she'd seen for Hoenn didn't really tell her much about what was supposed to happen. She knew that in the game May helped Professor Birch and that Brendan was her rival. But couldn't remember if he'd ever made it to the anime- Hau was the first Rival character she remembered seeing animated into the series other than Gary, so could it be Ash? Pikachu were pretty common... 

“They both know the area around here really well, Professor Birch focuses on studying pokemon in their wild environment, so I wouldn't worry about them.” The Technician assured her, turning to walk back into the lab, “We don't have the pokemon here right now, but you can leave your bike there and come in, at least?”

Eyes darting between the forest and the door, May started to get off of her bike- she could wait and call her parents, it should be fine, right? Professor Birch was an adult, if he focused on Pokemon in the Wild he should be able to handle himself even if he did get into a bit of trouble.

Still, something in the back of her mind nudged at her to go, to find him herself. That was how the game went, wasn't it? How much of it should she follow? May's future was the course of the game. And she had thought about that a lot on and off in the past several years.

The anime didn't have a life-changing plot for the characters who weren't really Ash. Aside from randomly placed movies, everything should be fine if one of his female companions didn't show up, she was pretty certain of that. May had hoped it would make things easier for her. But standing in front of the lab, with her bike, and the weight of a pokeball on her belt, she was less sure. Did she even like Ash as a character enough to travel with him? If Brendan was here was that even an option? 

Huffing, May shifted her feet and shook her head. There was so much uncertainty and finally being faced with the questions directly, not just theorizing over them, she couldn't stand the idea of sitting around doing nothing for who knew how long. Sure, she could call her parents and relax, but could she actually rest? Something in the back of her head, a strange small voice she hadn't really acknowledge before, told her that no, she wouldn't, and she should definitely go look for them. 

“Waiting sounds nice, but I think I'm gonna go look for them.”

“What? No- you should wait here-”

By the time the words were out of the technician's lips, May was back on her bike making her way to the forest. There wasn't really any specific direction to take but she went out in a straight line, keeping an eye out for anyone or anything that might stand out to her. It was a good five or ten minutes before she heard yelling and immediately turned her bike in its direction. She nearly rammed it into a boy that came running out of the brush and into her path.

“Watch out!” Her tires dug up dirt and rocks as she forced the bike to stop as quickly as possible, just barely avoiding the boy, who only spared her a glance before he continued on towards the yelling, jumping over some bushes and letting out a yelp when he fell.

She watched him go down and heard more yelling, was left gapping like a fish for a few moments, before she climbed off her bike and followed. After watching him fall, May took the time to slowly push through the bushes, feeling them scrape and scratch at her legs, and stepped out onto a steep grassy overhang that looked over a cliff. The boy was still sliding and trying to grab his balance as she got through, and May just barely caught hold of him to stop him from falling.

The yelling had quieted, but the sound of barking and growling was noticeable now, and when May and the boy got themselves righted enough to look, it was to see Professor Birch hanging from a tree, half of his body in mid-air as he clung to it. His eyes were wide, face a bit flushed, “Are you two okay?!”

“I'm fine!” The boy responded, climbing to his feet to rush towards the edge, leaving May on her own. He was quick to grab a bag on the ground, and dig through it, “Are you okay??”

“I'm fine, Brendan. Did you see where Ash and Pikachu went?”

Brendan. Ash.

How, why? It kind of made sense, but did it really? The anime was based originally on the games so it kind of did. Did that mean Red and Green were real too? Or was Ash Red? Did that mean the movies were a real thing too- was it imperative that May travel with Ash? Did her role in the world suddenly become bigger than it was as simply 'Ash Ketchum's female companion'? Who were the bad guys in Hoenn again? What did they do- she knew it wasn't Team Rocket- why couldn't they have just stayed in Johto...

“Hey! Are you okay? Did you hit your head? Snap out of it!” The boy, Brendan, was at her side, a pokeball in hand, shaking her slightly. He looked concerned but also annoyed- his eyes kept turning to look over at Professor Birch who seemed to have found some odd hold on the tree.

May shook her head, tried to shove all of her thoughts aside- she'd have time to think of that later- to deal with all of it when the time came. Leaving it at the theories she'd been coming up with since the age of three was fine for the moment. For now, she turned her attention back to Brendan and the situation at hand. “I'm fine, sorry.”

As soon as she said that, Brendan was back up on his feet and moving away from her. He threw the pokeball down and out came a blue pokemon- she knew it only from her travel guide. A mudkip, the water starter. It looked around before spotting the boy holding it's pokeball. He fumbled, blinking at it before down at the pokemon below, “Mudkip, use water gun on those poochyena!”

It was only then that May even bothered to look at the source of barking and growling, and it was just in time to see the dog-like pokemon get rained on by a torrent of water. They turned tail and ran, and part of May was a little sad- she wanted one, so badly. Maybe a calmer one though. But more importantly, they were gone and just in time, because the branch creaked and finally gave up, dropping the Professor down to the ground below.

Brendan and the Mudkip rushed to scramble over the edge of the cliff, small as it was, and helped the Professor back up. Still feeling stunned and confused, May picked up the professor's overturned bag while they checked on Birch, tucking two pokeballs that had fallen out back in, before moving a little closer, “Are you okay?”

Professor Birch was brushing himself off and rubbing at his back, Brendan fussing over him a little, while Mudkip sat between the two's feet.

“We're okay. This wasn't exactly how I expected to be meeting you, May- are you alright? We were starting to worry when you didn't show up- did you get hurt in the fall?”

Adults and their fretting, it would almost be annoying if it weren't so comforting too. Norman did it when he was around, but mostly for May it was Caroline who did it- fretting over May and Max as if they were made of paper (even when they proved again and again to be quite sturdy). Still, May knew that adults were not quite so capable of getting up from injuries and the fall had been bad. Not May had memories of back pain and running out of breath easily, making May a little more prone to worry herself.

“I'm fine, really, I just got a little distracted on the way here, but you fell- are you sure you're okay? Is your back okay? You should be careful, maybe see a doctor after that?”

“I'm fine, I'm fine,” Birch brushed her off, letting his gaze flick between the two children, “I had really hoped the two of you would get to meet over better circumstances, but we need to find Ash and Pikachu.”

Brendan put the mudkip away, it disappearing in a familiar red beam of light. May handed Professor Birch his bag, and Brendan returning the pokeball to him. It was tucked away in the bag with the other two, and Brendan and May only got the chance to glance at each other between a bright light lit up the forest- it was impressive given how bright the day already was.

Still, the sound of it made the hair on the back of May's neck stand up, it left something that felt so staticky all around them that she felt the need to rub herself down, but also afraid to touch anything. The words, 'what was that' were out of her mouth before her mind caught up that it had to be Ash's Pikachu. 

“It could explode!” Was all she heard from Brendan and both he and Birch were off towards the light. May could only follow in confusion and panic, one hand going up to lightly touch Zigzagoon's pokeball. It had a ground type move- could possibly help a lot if it really came to it. Maybe? 

By the time they caught up, May spotted Ash (just a dark-haired boy in a red cap, she wouldn't have recognized him in any other situation she thought) running and leaping over a cliff. She hadn't seen the bright yellow of Pikachu, but could only assume he was following it. The way her chest clenched though, the panic and fear at seeing someone willingly throw themselves over the edge of a cliff- probably one much higher than the one Professor Birch had fallen down- was enough to make her heart pound and her lungs seize. Panic had not been so active in her childhood here in this world and she was suddenly very much regretting her choice to be a trainer. Maybe if she stayed in school and did something else, settled for a pet pokemon, she wouldn't be feeling all of this stress. 

Birch and Brendan didn't pause though, the panic was clear in their voices, but they were moving. May followed their lead as quickly as she could. A rope from Birch's bag was thrown over the edge, and all three of them managed to help Ash back up the cliffside to safety, but the continuous sparks from the Pikachu tucked into his arms were terrifying. It was just bright sparks of light that made May flinch each time, even as they helped pull boy and pokemon back up over the edge.

May felt like she might drop as soon as Ash was safe, her chest heaving for air and her hands aching where the rope had aggravated her scraped palms. She knelt down on the ground, arms resting on her knees, and tried to catch her breath.

Professor Birch hovered over Ash and Pikachu, but Brendan came and knelt down next to her, and she found herself nearly face to face with him. Grey eyes and tanned skin, he looked like he spent all of his time in the sun and she supposed with a dad like Birch that was a given. Still, she offered him a small smile when he offered her a canteen of water.

Were most of the rivals in Pokemon so nice? She knew Gary had been a dick through all of Pokemon Red... Was pretty sure Silver had taken the cake in the Johto games for being a real ass until the end. After that, she wasn't so sure, but she clearly remembered thinking the newer rivals were a bit too friendly and not as much of a challenge. Right now, she was okay with that. Friendly was nice.

Friendly was offering her water and checking to make sure she was okay. Friendly could stay. 

“We should get back to the lab,” She heard Ash say, the first words she really had time to hear him speak, “Pikachu's still not okay.”

Everyone was getting to their feet, and May took note of how Ash cradled Pikachu, a round yellow mouse with chubby red cheeks that were still sparking a bit. Pikachu was always the mascot, always so cute, but seeing one in person, even not feeling well, she really couldn't help but want to touch it and pet it and hold it. So damn cute. Maybe when it was feeling better, she'd get the chance.

“Back to the lab sounds great,” May started, “I should probably let mom and dad know I'm okay...?”

Birch nodded his head, and Brendan was shouldering his bag, they were ready to go and Arceus, May was grateful for that. Until the next big sound hit.

It was heavy, like someone dropping a super heavyweight in the dirt, but the sound didn't get May ready for the thing that followed it. It was big and red and black, like a robot some kid had pieced together. It came out of the woods with heavy stomps, and reached out long silver arms and snatched Pikachu right out of Ash's arms. Professor Birch moved fast, shoving all three kids behind him as Pikachu was grabbed, it's sparks going off until the robot pressed conductors against its cheeks.

“What is that?” Brendan yelled, and Ash countered to say it was Team Rocket.

The bad teams existed. The criminal organizations were real and a threat- and more than that, by guessing Jessie and James were in that thing with their meowth (could it talk? She wanted to know, oh she wanted to know so bad), they were hopefully just as cartoony and silly as in the anime.

“They're always trying to steal pokemon!” Ash stated in annoyance, his voice angry as he tried to push past Professor Birch. The only adult among them seemed intent to keep him back though, and May was glad for it. Someone had some sanity. 

“We have to do something!” May found herself saying, clearly not sharing in that sanity as impulse moved her. Ducking under Birch's arm while he was distracted, she pulled Zigzagoon's pokeball out, but before she could release it a bright light blinded her. She stumbled back, knocking into the Professor who grabbed her by the shoulders, and they were all drowned out by the sound of Pikachu's attack.

It just kept going and going, until the machine seemed to short circuit. Over the sound of the machine breaking it was impossible to hear anything else, and May found herself covering her eyes with her arms. It was no surprise that the machine couldn't take it- if Ash's Pikachu really was as strong as in the anime, but it was still scary to have happen right there. 

She heard Birch make a comment about Pikachu's output rate, but that was the last thing she heard before the robot stumbled back, falling over roots and bushes to it disappeared into the woods with a lot of smoke and sparks. There was a deafening thud as it fell out of sight, and Ash was around them all in moments to chase after it, leaving the others behind.

May moved to follow, a sense of urgency hitting her as she chased him through smoke and patches of fire. The damage from Team Rocket never seemed so bad in the anime, but then... they were in a forest and real-life was so different from a cartoon.

The robot was laid out on its side, the area around it smokey and singed, and the top seemed to have been pried open. There was no sign of anyone around it, but May didn't think Ash was looking for people. He made a beeline for where Pikachu was struggling in metal arms, trying to get free.

“Wait! You don't know if it's safe to touch!” All that electricity, if the machine had overheated, there was a chance it would burn anyone who touched it. Ash didn't pause, and May growled as she followed after him, reaching out to grasp at his arm, only to get knocked back as he grabbed hold of the metal and began to pry it open.

“I have to get Pikachu out,” He snapped, trying in vain to pull the arms open. They didn't budge, but Ash didn't flinch away from touching them either.

Huffing, annoyed and worried, May shifted around Ash, as best she could, and reached down to take hold of one of the metal arms herself. It wasn't cool, but it wasn't hot enough to burn either. “I'll pull this one, you try that one, okay?”

It took a moment for her words to get through to Ash, but soon enough the two were pulling, dragging the robot's arms apart far enough that Pikachu could wiggle its way out of its grasp. It collapsed on the ground beside it, and Ash moved to get it so fast that May almost got hit with the metal he'd been holding back.

“You're going to be a lot of trouble, kid,” She found herself muttering as she dropped to sit on the mostly undamaged ground behind her, her knee hitting against the robot and making her flinch a bit. May had dealt with enough kids 'her own age' growing up here, she went to school and had to deal with the name calling, the teasing, the usual elementary school taunts. But no one had left her feeling quite as frustrated as she felt sitting near Ash Ketchum, near the wreckage of one of Team Rockets robots, realizing that she couldn't in good conscience not travel with him to keep him safe- even if she really really didn't want to.

The sound of Professor Birch and Brendan coming crashing through the forest went completely unnoticed by Ash, who cuddled his tired Pikachu to his chest, and by May who felt like she might pass out from all the excitement and stress.

Really, there couldn't be more than this, could there? The day had to be over, night time had to be coming and she could crawl into a bed and sleep. Maybe she'd get lucky and this would be one of those weird dreams she got that she was pretty sure were memories of the Pokemon Anime, foggy and weird and scarily more realistic than they'd likely been in Not May's world.

“Mudkip, water gun, try to put out the fires before they get bigger,” Came Professor Birch's voice and May looked over to see the Mudkip doing exactly as told. There weren't a lot of fires, it seemed, but Mudkip was quick to put them out as it found them, and when she turned she spotted Brendan climbing around to peak into the inside of the robot.

“There's no one here, dad!”

“That's fine, we'll worry about it later. We'll call Officer Jenny once we get back to the lab.”

Call the cops, didn't that sound so reasonable and nice? May sighed and tried not to flop back against the ground, even though she wanted to. A nap sounded really nice. Just a short one, she thought, as her eyes began to close despite her fighting it.

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So wow, oh my god wow. 
> 
> So my original plan was "Follow the anime, an episode and a chapter a day, after you get there it will be easier" and then I had today off so I just let it happen and it took me all day and this is the longest chapter yet... and I cannot promise the next one will be anywhere near as long because frankly I still have half the first episode to go with XD 
> 
> So I guess the plan is changing a little and I made a bit of a mess with adding Brendan in but I love him and the idea of him so he's in it now and I can't turn down the chance of bringing some game characters in cause I just love them okay so whatever. As my friend just reminded me, it's my fic, do whatever. So yeah. 
> 
> Have this long mess of a chapter and know that it's probably the longest for a few days. My goal is to write one a day, but I work most days so the days I'm most likely to get a long chapter out are gonna be Wednesdays and Saturdays when I have the day off, but like, I dunno I'm sharing my computer with three other people so we'll see. 
> 
> Anyway. Long note is long.
> 
> Enjoy!


	5. Get This Show On The Road – Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A distressed phone call and picking a pokemon- at least one of these things is not so high stress. Kind of.

\---> CONTINUE

May liked to think she could handle stress pretty well, she had a lot of experience, after all. Two lives and you just kind of accumulated a certain amount of skill for dealing with stress, you kind of learned to let some things roll off your back. It had helped so far in May's life, using the knowledge she could gather from her spotty memories of Not May's life to get through things in her current life.

Norman wasn't home often cause he was off training or doing gym stuff? That's okay, at least he calls and comes home when it's really important- she had a dad who was always there as Not May, she could excuse what seemed to be normal behavior in the pokemon world for a dad. At least there weren't any Mr. Mime's sniffing around her mom.

Get a bad grade in some class that she feels like she should have done well in cause- elementary vs her previous college education???- that's okay. It happens. School grades don't follow you everywhere, unlike what people always liked to press on kids.

She could deal with all of that. She could take a lot of things in stride and brush them off, keep going. She told herself she could do that. And it usually worked- May didn't have anxiety the way Not May did, she didn't have depression or a lot of the mental struggles. So she didn't spend hours overthinking things or circling around the same problems until they were huge. It was... nice. In fact, it was amazing.

And then Ash Ketchum walked into May's life. With his Pikachu and Team Rocket, and the horrible knowledge that as someone with the maturity of an adult underneath her ten-year-old guise, she could not let him walk back out of it without some form of.... supervision.

It was with this daunting, kind of terrible, knowledge that May woke up. The events of the day swam in and out of her mind in the haze between unconsciousness and awake. It was the type of feeling that left her wanting to roll over and go right back to sleep. If she'd woken up back in her bed maybe she would have. Or at least she would have let herself wake up slowly, at a nice comfortable pace. But there was a weight on her chest she couldn't ignore, as if all the pressure of her thoughts was pressing down on her, and when she moved ever so slightly, something wet touched her face. Not even just wet, but slimy and warm.

With a shriek she jerked up, eyes wide as they focused in the dim room. Laying in a heap on her lap was Zigzagoon, staring up at her with those big brown eyes, nose twitching. It only took a moment for the pokemon to shift in her lap, front paws suddenly on her shoulders, face back in hers to give licks while it chattered away at her. It struggled and squirmed a bit when she grasped it's wiggling sides and pulled it back, face scrunched up and feeling slimy, “Okay, okay, okay, I'm up, calm down.”

The pokemon whined at her but settled in her lap so she could wipe her face and actually look around. She felt almost bad knowing she'd have to give Zigzagoon back to her dad, sure she had promised and he told her to get a starter pokemon for her journey, but would it really be all that bad if she tried to convince him to let her keep this one? It was a lot more likable than any zigzagoon had ever seemed in the games...

The sound of the door opening drew May's attention, and Zigzagoon's as well, the pokemon hopping off the couch to run across the room and scramble around Professor Birch's feet. It was then that May realized she was in an office, it was a mess- papers everywhere, the window wide open to let in whatever breeze could come in. There were food wrappers on the desk, and the couch she was laying on looked well-loved and worn. She couldn't help but wonder how many nights Birch spent here. If he went home to his wife? Did Brendan stay here with him too? She wasn't sure if she hoped he did or not.

The idea that Brendan would be close to his dad was just nice, it felt like such a rarity. She knew most of the kids at her school in Johto hadn't had at least one of their parents, and it was... almost staggering how accepted that was.

“Oh you're awake, I was starting to worry.” Professor Birch stated, moving closer, his expression pulled into a pleasant smile. He looked like a big round uncle, one who's pockets might be full of candy and who played with all the kids- a favorite uncle, so to say. 

May rubbed at her eyes, “Yeah... how long was I asleep? What happened?”

She remembered getting Ash and his Pikachu out of the robot's arms, of course, and the horrible realizations she'd come to in that one afternoon. It was still a lot to take in. Passing out was not a normal event for May, but everything had happened so fast- she still felt like she could lay down and just sleep for hours more. 

“After you and Ash got pikachu back from that robot you passed out,” Birch explained, though it wasn't informative at all, “We got you back here okay, but you really gave us a fright you know. You should call your mom. She was really worried...”

“You called my mom??” May jumped to her feet, a sensation of panic washing over her. Not the panic of anxiety like earlier, but the panic of a child knowing they were in trouble. She wished it wasn't such a nice change.

Caroline had graciously accepted May going on her pokemon journey, she was a pretty gentle woman, not much of a worrier but May could only imagine what was going through her head hearing her daughter had passed out on her first day on her own. “Where's your phone? I need to call her right now!”

She wondered if Caroline had called her dad? If it hadn't been that long, no one could have gotten all the way here from Petalburg, would they come to check on her? Did she want them to?

Being allowed to take her journey now gave May some of the freedom she'd had in her past life, the freedom she hadn't really gotten to know here in the Pokemon World due to her age. Even if they were a bit skewed on what the meaning of being Ten was, everything under that was clearly still a child. With all the ups and downs. Sure she didn't have to worry about things like rent or cooking (and wow weren't those a relief to be out of the way?) but having a curfew, always needing to let someone know where you were, chores and rules. Even her clothes and hairstyles being mostly picked out by someone else... May couldn't deny it chaffed and had caused a few fights that anyone else might have scoffed at.

 _Don't treat me like a child!_ Had a whole different vibe to it when it was said by an angry eight-year-old and not a thirty-something adult.

She didn't know if she wanted them to come. But she did know she didn't want them to stress out. If things were going to go the way she kind of feared they would, she knew that worrying would be a constant in her parents lives- at least if she clued them into what all happened from here on out. It wasn't unusual for a child to leave out details that might frighten their parents. It was the same thing, right? Totally not lying if all she did was leave out some details... like she was hoping she could do now.

“What did you tell her exactly?” She had to know, it was important to know every detail of what they might know so she knew what to tell and what to leave out. Obviously, Professor Birch would go over her head to talk to her parents, but maybe if she was lucky she could still spin it in a way that wasn't.... as horrible as everything that had happened.

The title of 'Favorite Uncle' faded entirely from May's mind when Birch's lips formed a tight line and one eyebrow arched up judgingly. That was the 'I may like you, but I won't lie to your parents for you' look. She knew it well, had given it to plenty of kids in Not May's lifetime. Silently she cursed having it thrown at her like some karmic backlash, and demoted him to 'likable uncle'. At least she knew he was semi-responsible. Even if it was on the one thing she wanted him to be a bit flaky.

"I just," May started, trying not to openly flounder for an explanation that would be truthful but not sound like bullshit. "This is the first time I've ever gone somewhere on my own, and I know my dad thinks I'll be fine but mom was really worried about it."

The words came out in a rush, her voice rising in pitch as she continued, watching Professor Birch's expression turn from silent judging to relief to concern.

"Like I'm her only daughter and I know all this is really normal but I'm still the first baby Pidgey to leave the nest, right? And I just don't want her to think I'm gonna get hurt at every turn and stress herself out, and dad and Max all cause of what happened today. I don't want her to think it was A bad idea to let me go,"

Frankly, it was a horrible idea. She was Ten. TEN. But it was **normal** here, so probably Caroline would accept it, but May was on a roll and in truth, working herself up more than need be. Ah, anxiety, old friend.

"What if she worries about Max when he goes because I got in trouble, that wouldn't be fair to him, he's so excited to be a Pokemon trainer and-"

And there it was, Birch waved his hands in surrender, "May, May calm down. I'm sure she won't stop Max from becoming a Pokemon trainer."

There was a slightly frantic sound to his tone. The Pokemon world and Not May's world had a lot of differences, but men not knowing what to do with a hysterical female seemed to be a similarity.

Shuddering a little, May caught her breath and smoothed the panic out to just leave frustration painted over her face. "Just, what did you tell her? Is she coming here? Did she tell Dad? Did **you** tell my dad?"

"Now, now, I didn't talk to your dad. I'm sure they're not coming," the way he paused was suspicious, she doubted he knew for sure how accurate his guessing was, "I'm sure your mom will answer right away and you can assure her you're okay."

"Okay..." May took a calming breath, "Okay. But what did you tell her?"

Through all of this Zigzagoon had watched the humans with increasing concern, and by the time May outwardly calmed it had moved to paw at her leg, tiny claws snagging on her shorts as it tried for her attention. Eyes still on Birch, May reached down to lift the Pokemon up into her arms, hugging it close as it nuzzled into her shoulder.

"Just that you helped me and Brendan chase down someone's sick Pikachu and that we ran into some trouble with some small-time criminals. But that you're okay. You do need to give a statement to Officer Jenny as well, though..."

Okay, so basically everything but kinda vague. She could work with that, or she could try. Lying was not easy. She'd gotten this far though.

"I gotta call my mom." May insisted, not sure how to handle giving a police statement right now. Mom first, Officer Jenny later. One thing at a time.

Professor Birch nodded and ushered her towards the far corner of the office where his phone was. May dropped into the chair in front of it, Zigzagoon finally settling in her arms, just enough to let her plug her home number in as soon as the phone's screen lit up. It rang just once before it flickered to life with the image of her living room, Max's face nearly pressed to the screen.

"May??" He looked her over then twisted in his seat to look towards the front hall off-screen, "Mom! It's May!"

In a few short seconds, Caroline came into view, looking flustered and somewhat panicked. It was a look May could sadly say she'd seen growing up with Caroline. Usually, due to May wandering off without a thought, one time, in particular, came to mind when she was seven and taken a tiny four-year-old Max into a bookstore they'd passed while Caroline was talking to someone. May had tried not to do that again. She'd felt so much guilt and she felt it again now, swarming over her and filling her gut with dread.

With Zigzagoon mostly settled in her lap, and Professor Birch leaning on the chair to just get a look at the screen, May lifted her arm to give a weak wave, “Hi Mom... hey Max...”

“Are you okay? Do you need to come home?” Caroline didn't quite push Max out of the way, but it was clear her concern was more pressing than anything else. It was a bit endearing, but mostly, May just felt terribly guilty.

“I'm okay, mom, I promise. Really, fit as a fiddle.” May smiled, big and bright, “It was just a lot to take in, but I'm alright! But I'll stop at home when I come back through, okay? You can see for yourself, and hopefully, I'll have a new pokemon, right?”

She tilted her head to glance up at Professor Birch, feeling relief wash over her when he nodded. She didn't know if that would soothe her mother at all, but it was an attempt, and that had to count right?

Caroline's face lost some of its strain, so May was happy for that, but she could tell this was hardly the end of the topic. Hell, she didn't think she would have let this go so easily as Not May. Still, Caroline's eyes were on her, watching, analyzing in that way only a mother could do, and her voice came out careful, the tone neutral but obvious in her unwillingness to budge, “I want you to come home as soon as you get your pokemon, alright May?”

Nodding quickly, May offered her mother another smile, hoping it would be acceptable. “I promise, mom, as soon as I get my pokemon, I'll come straight home- I want you and dad to meet them, and I have to give dad back his Zigzagoon. So I'll be back soon, I promise.”

The pokemon in question squirmed in her arms, and May gave a soft squeeze back, brushing her fingers through its fur in a soothing manner. It almost hurt to say she would be giving the little raccoon pokemon back at this point, but that was the deal, and the last thing May wanted to do was break it. 

Here Professor Birch chimed in, “It is a bit late... since May likely won't be able to get home before dark, I was thinking perhaps she should stay here for the night? We have the room and you know she'll be safe here, Caroline.”

May watched her mother's flicker between emotions before she settled on a look May could only describe as 'done with your shit', and deadpanned, “Like she was safe with you this afternoon?”

In her head, May gave a soft 'buuuurn,' but managed to keep it to herself, biting her lip and ducking her head a bit as the Professor floundered, his arms waving a bit behind her.

“Now- I know this sounds bad, it was bad a situation, but I promise, I'd never let anything happen to your daughter, Caroline, you know that- she'll be safe here tonight, and I'll send her on her way safely in the morning, promise. She'll be okay.”

“I'm telling you now, Birch, if my daughter doesn't get back by tomorrow night, it won't be Norman coming looking for her.” There was a threat in those words May had never heard come from Caroline before, it was kind of scary but also it made her feel really proud. Her mom could Mama Bear like the best of them. Mama Ursaring?

Luckily, the tension was cut as Max squeezed his way back into the picture on the screen, eyes immediately locking on May, “You gotta tell us what happened when you get back! I wanna know everything!”

His was face lit up with excitement he usually withheld for learning new pokemon facts or something dad did or said. It was actually a relief, to everyone, and they all laughed and nodded, glad for the change in topic.

“Yeah, I'll tell you everything. You'll never guess what I ran into in the woods- it'll be a big surprise!” She could only imagine the tangent Max would go off on about the duskull. It had been a harmless enough event that it wouldn't upset her mom too much and Max would probably be ready to drag out the map they'd gotten of Hoenn and look at all the places they'd marked for certain pokemon. It would be a pretty nice and easy thing to do after what all happened today.

“What? What did you run into? I wanna know now!”

May shook her head and put her fingers to her lips, “It's a secret, I'll tell you when I get home.”

Max's expression fell a little, that stubborn bratty look he got whenever someone wouldn't give him something he wanted taking all of his excitement away. “You suck.”

Her own expression turns sly and amused, “I know.”

The energy had shifted, finally, to something light and calm. Caroline looked like she was accepting things, and May bit back a sigh of relief, glad to know that she was out of trouble at least for a little bit. It made it easier to say goodbye after a few more minutes of banter between her and Max, and another promise to stop at home as soon as she made it back to Petalburg.

Still, May felt her shoulders sag as she finally hung up the phone, slumping down in the chair feeling like all her strength was gone. This was not going to be an easy trip. She didn't have any idea what happened in this season of the anime, or how much of it would be different strictly because there were obviously elements from the games... or the manga?- she really couldn't say yet.

“I need to go check on Ash and Pikachu, why don't you rest here a bit longer then come down to the lab? The pokemon should be ready for you, when you're ready?”

May perked up just a bit, head tilting to look up at the Professor. Cool Uncle? Favorite? Who knew. But at least he had made things a bit easier to handle. “Can I come with you? Are Ash and his pikachu okay? They weren't too badly hurt were they?”

“They should be fine with some rest, like you,” Birch reassured, and motioned for her to follow him out of the room, which she did so reluctantly.

She didn't want to stay alone and risk falling asleep again- the emotional and mental strain of everything just felt like too much, and it made her restless. Even as her limbs felt like they were heavy and a bit weak, she still had the urge to move, to run. So, she followed after Professor Birch as he left his office and led her down a set of stairs and then a hall, before he opened a door by the back. It opened up into a big room with white walls and a lot of equipment, May could only guess it was the lab, but she didn't spend a lot of time looking at the room itself or even the group of people in labcoats moving around and doing things.

No, she focused her attention on Ash Ketchum sitting at a table, Brendan by his side. She had to get closer to see Pikachu laid out on the table, fast asleep with a few wires suctioned to his cheeks. Those wires went off the table to a machine nearby, it made a steady beeping noise and May could only assume it was a good sign.

The two boys were talking, though they'd gone silent when Professor Birch came into the room, turning to look at him and May.

Looking at both of the boys, May could say she wouldn't have thought them special in any other setting. They were average for ten-year-olds, a bit gangly and awkward as their limbs grew, they still had baby fat on their faces, and there was nothing especially noticeable about their appearances. They'd blend in to just about any class picture, she was sure. But knowing who they are, gave them something special that May could only describe as being that 'main character energy'.

She wondered idly if that meant she was destined to be a side character instead? If Brendan was here, maybe he could take on the duty of taking care of Ash, and she could just go on a low risk normal pokemon journey. The thought drifted away as soon as she had it though, knowing that she really couldn't risk something like that. What kind of person would it make her if she avoided doing something knowing someone might get hurt?

Being a good person kind of sucked. She just wanted a low-key adventure, nothing life-changing or dangerous. That obviously wasn't going to be a thing if this day was anything to go by, and May didn't think it'd matter which boy she stuck by. She'd just have to settle on it being too much no matter what she did.

“Hey...” She waved at them a bit awkwardly when neither said anything to her, “Um... How's Pikachu doing?”

Ash brightened instantly at the mention of his pokemon, “He's doing a lot better- finally getting some rest. Professor Birch said he'll be fine with a good night's sleep!”

“That's great.” May offered, her gaze flickering to Brendan, before moving back to Ash, “I'm really glad he'll be okay- I was worried he might be really hurt.”

Explosions, electric blasts as strong as Pikachu had put out, on top of the fight with Team Rocket, May was surprised any of them were alright. Was that an after effect of this world being so similar to anime?

“Are you okay, May?” Brendan spoke up, “Dad said you just dropped.”

“Yeah,” May waved him off, but gave a grateful smile, “I'm alright. Just too much excitement for my first day on my own, ya know?”

Both of them nodded, but May wasn't sure they really believed her. Brendan looked less convinced than Ash did which was not too surprising, she thought. It felt fitting, especially if Brendan was meant to be her counterpart. Maybe they were more in tune with each other? Or maybe she was just thinking about this too much.

At the very least they seemed to accept it and move on, whether that was because neither wanted to press or if they were actually just that easily appeased, she didn't know. It was hard to tell with men of any age, she imagined at ten it was even harder. It was a good thing though, she'd take what she could get, and enjoy it.

“Now that everyone is okay,” Professor Birch started, stepping into the room, and smiling at them, “It's about time May gets to pick her first pokemon.”

Ash lit up like it was Christmas, his eyes darting to May, “You're here to get your first pokemon?”

“Yeah. I just got my license, so here I am, to get my very own starter!”

A low whine drew everyone's attention to the Zigzagoon half curled around her legs, looking up at her with bright eyes, pink tongue hanging out. May knelt down a bit to brush her fingers through the fur at the top of it's head, “Though at this rate, I might be begging my dad to let me keep his Zigzagoon.”

Birch let out a hearty laugh, which made May laugh too. It was nice to laugh, to really just let out a small, genuine sound of happiness and amusement.

“I'm sure if anyone could convince Norman, it would be you, May.” Birch stated, setting a tray with three pokeballs on it on the table. Ash's eyes were immediately drawn to it, but Brendan stepped a bit out of the way, letting May get a better look. She watched the professor pick up a pokeball, and give it a light toss.

A beam of red light let out a small reptilian looking pokemon. She remembered it, both from the books she'd been reading on Pokemon in Hoenn, as well as from her memories as Not May. Treecko had been the first pokemon she picked once upon a time when she'd played Sapphire forever ago. It hadn't stayed on her team long though, once she'd gotten an oddish she'd all but forgotten about her Treecko... she still felt bad about that.

“Treecko is the first,” Professor Birch began to explain, clearly ready to continue when Brendan stepped in, looking almost more excited about it than Ash did.

“A grass type, they can walk on walls, it's really cool.” Brendan stated, grinning as he waved his hand lightly at the pokemon, who seemed to beam right back at him.

“They can walk on walls?” Ash sounded utterly mystified. It was actually adorable.

Professor Birch shook his head with a laugh, “Would you like to introduce them to May, Brendan?” He offered the next ball up to his son, who took it gladly.

The next pokemon released was the same mudkip that had helped them through the mess that was the afternoon. It shook itself out, and made a yawn like sound, before looking up at all the humans around them.

Ash looked about ready to vibrate with excitement as he looked down at the two new pokemon- ones he'd never seen before. May had to admit, he almost made her think of Max. And wasn't it strange to make that comparison and not the other way around?

“Mudkip's a water type, you met him earlier. The fin on their heads are really sensitive so you gotta be careful with it.”

May nodded, remembering that vaguely from one of her books. Starter Pokemon were sturdy and docile in general, able to help trainers grow. She'd actually picked hers already before she'd even come to the lab, had done the math and theorized and thought about it, but knew what she would pick already. But now that she was faced with it, wasn't it exciting to just see them?

“The last one,” Brendan stated, giving the last pokeball a soft toss like his father had. The red light flickered out and left in it's place a cute orange chick. It looked pretty similar to any chicken chick she could ever remember seeing, it's color the most interesting thing about it. It cheeped and bounced around excitedly as Brendan spoke, “Torchic's the fire starter, they're super warm and pretty high energy.”

Brendan still held it's pokeball in hand, as Ash nearly pushed May out of the way so he could look at each pokemon. In turn, they seemed equally interested in Ash. _Pokemon Whisperer_ , May had heard him called once somewhere. It was a suiting title she thought, knowing he'd probably end up with one of each as he seemed to do each season. A very _main character_ type situation.

Shifting her weight, May peered around Ash, staring down at the cute pokemon, “Wow.. it's so hard to pick.”

And it was, now that she could see them all, it was so different than just looking at the base information in a book and seeing a picture. There were so many details to take into account, and now it was harder to piece them all together as her hands itched to reach out and touch each pokemon, get to know them all just a little bit. If she could pry them away from Ash.

Brendan nodded, “Yeah, they're all really great.”

“What feels best to you, May?” Ash turned his head to look up at May, his grin was near blinding, and she felt just a little cowed by it.

“Um...” Glancing back down at zigzagoon, May shifted her feet awkwardly, trying to think. Slowly, she moved a bit closer to the three new pokemon, squatting down to be more on their level. Looking at each in turn, all the planning she'd done, and what she had decided originally, felt a little hasty. 

Part of her wanted to pick Treecko, to do right by him the way her past self had failed to do so long ago, but she feared her future with him would put him in the exact same spot her in game treecko had ended up, left on the side lines when she found a grass type that was more her style. It was an obvious fear for each one of them, but it stood out so much more with the little gecko pokemon.

Torchic, she was almost certain was May's actual first pokemon. She could remember the art work of her 'character' with Torchic and it's evolutions. It was cutie, and fire type starters were always said to be the strongest- the best for beating the gyms unless your first gym was a water gym which, May was pretty sure, was never actually the case? At least she didn't think so. Regardless, the first gym she had to worry about was a rock type gym, so while Torchic was still an okay choice, it wasn't the best if she went that route.

Mudkip was who she wanted initially. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with the fact that she just had a weak spot for water types. It just made sense to her that she would pick Mudkip. Not only did it fit her general M.O., but it also made the most sense with the first gym. Still... would it be cheating to pick Mudkip partly just because he would make it easier for her to beat the first gym? Was that fair to Mudkip?

Chewing on her lip, May looked back up to Professor Birch and Brendon, “What happens to the other two?”

It probably wouldn't help her pick at all, but she'd like to know. Were there other trainers coming? She knew that in Kanto, Ash had missed out on picking a normal starter because other trainers had beat him to Professor Oak's lab, but would that be the case here?

“I'm gonna take one, and Dad'll keep the other to help him with his research.” Brendan stated, smiling, “Go ahead, May, pick one, they're all really great.”

“Yeah, they'll make great partners,” Ash added, as if he could just sense it. He was standing back now, hands in front of him giving her two thumbs up.

“Okay...” May looked down over three pokemon again. Watched them shift and move, all looking at her. Torchic looked about ready to burst with energy, pacing in place, while Mudkip was sitting, big black eyes locked on her, it's fin shivering in what she hoped was anticipation and not worry. Treecko looked wholly unaffected, but still watched, still looked with that little glimmer of hope.

“I'll pick...” She felt bad picking just one at all. Like she was automatically letting the other two down. Was it cruel to do so? It was a normal thing, wasn't it?

“Mudkip.” May finally blurted out. Docile, sweet, and a typing she just really loved, May let herself pick the one she'd wanted originally. The way Torchic drooped made her instantly feel bad, and even Treecko seemed to slump a little, but Mudkip immediately moved closer to her, putting it's front legs up on her knees, letting out a happy croak like noise. Where it's feet (paws?) touched her was a little bit of a slimy feel, and it struck her that Mudkip was probably coated in some kind of mucus or film to keep itself from drying out on land. Like a frog. Both gross and cool.

Zigzagoon rushed forward to lick at the water pokemon's cheek, causing Mudkip to stumble and drop back, and May couldn't help laughing a bit as she pushed the raccoon pokemon back, before scooping up Mudkip, “I can't wait to get to know you, Mudkip, I hope we can be really great friends.”

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is going to be shorter, I said. I'll post every day, I said. 
> 
> I failed. I did write half of this yesterday but I couldn't get it all done before I had to like, sleep, so sorry it's late? Better a day late than never, right? 
> 
> And the biggest thing: I'm gonna do a chapter a day to match an episode. 
> 
> So I dunno, we'll go as we go. No stress. There's plenty of time and more than enough episodes that I'm just not gonna worry... So enjoy this bit, I'm actually really happy with this chapter and some of the interactions- I'm figuring out Brendan still of course, but we'll get there!


	6. Get This Show On The Road – Part Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awkward breakfast and time to finally go!

\---> CONTINUE

The night at the lab was a bit weird. While Professor Birch spent a lot of nights in his office, obviously, there wasn't really any set bedrooms or such. There was a room with couches and a TV, clearly a break room. It was pretty well-loved, and May could imagine the techs spending a lot of their free time, and probably a good few nights there. There were blankets thrown over the back of both couches, and a mini-fridge in the corner, the table between the couches covered in hazardous papers and books.

Professor Birch seemed at least a little embarrassed about the mess when he showed it to May. Ash was determined to stay with Pikachu through the night, but May needed somewhere to sleep. Looking at the break room, she almost missed the small cramped office Birch would be sleeping in. As she stepped further into the room, taking her bag off to drop near one of the couches, Zigzagoon rushed forward to jump onto the couch, and mudkip followed a few paces behind.

“It's not exactly four-star, but you should be able to sleep alright here. The bathroom's just down the hall.”

Not four star was right, but it was still way above sleeping in a tent on the ground. Besides, she wasn't going to be too picky about sleeping arrangements when she wasn't exactly looking forward to the next morning. After the sub-par meal of ordered pizza that Professor Birch had offered them, she wasn't sure she was expecting much anyway.

“It'll be great, thank you.” May flashed a smile, “Besides, I'm so tired I could sleep anywhere.”

And it was true, the little 'nap' earlier hadn't really done much of anything to help her get any actual rest. It wouldn't take much at all, she was pretty sure, to just nod off.

“I'll be in my office, so if you need anything just let me know, alright May? Anything at all.”

“'Kay.” Was all May offered when Professor Birch finally left her alone. She waited until the door was closed behind him, to let her shoulders slump and her smile fall away.

Exhaustion felt like it had seeped into her very bones- it was a feeling she'd not had in a long time. Years. Not May had felt it enough that it was a familiar thing, even if May herself had never known it so clearly.

She dropped heavily onto the nearest couch, bending to take off her shoes, and almost instantly had Mudkip in her face. The pokemon nudged at her face, it's fin quirked to one side as it cooed at her. It left a cool slime on her cheek, but the concern it showed was so sweet that she couldn't find it in herself to care. Taking off her gloves, May let her fingers brush against cool slick skin, “Thanks, Mudkip, I'll be okay. Just need a bit of sleep.”

From the back of the couch where Zigzagoon was settling, the raccoon pokemon mimicked Mudkip's coo, tail thumping at the back of May's shoulders when she sat back up. Reaching over her head she sank her fingers into the furry pokemon's scruff, “You two need to sleep too, huh? It's been a long day for all three of us.”

May supposed she should put them back in their pokeballs. It was how it was supposed to be, she knew, with Ash being an outlier of the usual rule with his Pikachu always out. May's dad had a safe place for his pokemon to stay if he didn't need them, but the team that stayed with him for battles were always safe in their pokeballs. She wondered if he kept them that way when he was traveling as a trainer.

Slakoth and its evolutions probably. May couldn't imagine Vigoroth being calm enough to keep out of trouble, and just about the only way to get Slaking to move was with the promise of food or some great emergency. The others were a bit all over with her dad, May liked to spend more of her time in the greenhouse he let the pokemon stay in. He said it was good for her and Max to be known to his pokemon, and neither of them had ever done anything but take full advantage now that they had actual access to their father's pokemon. She supposed Max would get to enjoy it without her now.

Sure, in the anime she knew he went along with the Real May on her journey... but May couldn't remember why for the life of her that happened- how did their mother let Max go when he was so young? Seven wasn't far from ten but it was still so small. Ten wasn't much more, but May still struggled with knowing that all of these kids out here traveling like she was going to be doing were just shy of being babies. Out of the playpen and into the fire, it seemed.

As much as she loved Max, short little annoyance he could be, she wanted him to be safe. And staying at home with their parents might be the best place for that, depending on how things went. The idea of having to keep Ash and Max under her watch 24/7 was not exactly appealing. She wasn't sure she could keep up with both of them. She wasn't sure she could keep up with just one of them...

Huffing, May chucked her shoes in the direction of her backpack, before getting up to turn the light off. “Okay, it really is time to rest.”

She just hoped sleep would come even with swirling thoughts. Patting Zigzagoon's head, and then mudkip's when she sat back down, pulling her legs up. As soon as she settled the blanket over her, Zigzagoon dropped down to lay between her legs, while Mudkip seemed content to curl by the couch. It was strange, to lay with the weight of Zigzagoon, and the feel of Mudkip's cool skin under her fingers went she woke up in the middle of the night with one arm hanging off the side of the couch.

But it also felt safe. Not like the safety of sleeping at home in her bed, knowing that her parents were just a few doors down (both of them finally staying in one home) and her brother just across the hall. It wasn't the same kind of safe she'd felt as Not May sleeping in her parents bed when she was little after a nightmare. It was a whole new type of safe. Because she was, because these two Pokemon, these super-powered creatures who could probably kill if they really needed to, liked her, they were comfortable with her and happy to be so close.

Waking up was a whole different feeling though. The day before, when she'd woken up in the morning it had been still at home. It had been waking up to sunlight streaming in from her window, and the smell of food cooking and the sounds of her mom in the kitchen. She was missing that feeling all the more now.

It was the second day of her journey, the first with her very own pokemon, and she was woken up by someone shaking her awake. May's hands immediately jolted up to push whoever it was away, and she rolled to avoid them, only to find the couch was just not as big as her bed, and she tumbled to the floor. Her knees and face hit first, the pain from yesterday suddenly making a harsh comeback, as she found herself very awake and very upset. Pushing herself up, May jerked around to snarl at whoever had woken her up, only to find Brendan looking down at her with a look of worry.

“Wow, I didn't think you freak out, are you okay?” He took a few steps back, giving May space to get up, her face red and eyes wide with anger.

“Do I look okay?” She snapped, a few choice words rushing to mind that she'd trained herself pretty well not to use in this lifetime. She'd said 'fuck' once in front of Caroline and it had become the biggest most horrible event, and she was determined not to repeat it.

Ten year old: Totally okay to go out on their own and face life-threatening monsters on a daily basis.  
  
Ten year old: Do not ever curse ever. Especially not in front of your mother.

Somethings were the same at least.

May ran her hands over her face, and turned on her heel away from Brendan, trying to soothe herself. It was hard. Mentally she was an adult, mentally she knew she should emotionally be the same, but it was hard when they just got the best of her. Maybe cause she was physically so young- there was only so much memories and knowledge could do, right? She shoved the blanket she'd been using off the floor and back onto the couch with more force than needed, and stomped over to her shoes, carefully not going near her Mudkip, who watched with an alarming stillness. She didn't want to scare her pokemon- but she needed a minute to cool down.

“Dad said to wake you up. I brought food so... Sorry?”

Taking a deep breath as she knelt down to pick up her shoes, May tried to steel herself. Calm, breathe in and out. It wasn't that big of a deal, even if her knees and face still stung and it had been way too quick and rough of a morning. Could you get a vacation from your pokemon journey? Was that a thing? She was pretty sure it wasn't.

Zigzagoon moved towards her, tail waving and nose twitching. It gave her a hesitant little coo and May just couldn't stand that. Leaving her shoes she twisted to pull the pokemon closer, “I'm not mad at you, it's okay.”

With that, Mudkip ventured closer, and May felt so bad. Animals were such sensitive things, but she hadn't thought her pokemon would be quite so sensitive too. Ruffling Zigzagoon's hair, May pulled Mudkip into her arms, pressing a kiss to it's head by it's fin before standing up. “It's fine. I'm fine, just... yesterday was so stressful, I just wasn't ready for that kind of wake up.”

Brendan just nodded at her, looking a little like he was afraid she might blow up at him, yell at him or something. She felt bad for that too, but not as much. You shouldn't wake someone you don't know like that, she stood by that concept.

“Won't do it again, promise.” He offered, giving a weak smile.

May returned it with a barely-there attempt. She was groggy, sore and hungry. And a bit grimy, all the running around yesterday had left a sort of filmy feel on her skin- she doubted there was a place to shower here, and really... she actually did really kind of just want to get home.

While she accepted the apology- he was ten, she reminded herself, Brendan was only ten. There was leeway there- Mudkip twisted in her arms and spit out a stream of water that hit the boy right in the face. Water-soaked his hat and the top of his shirt, leaving him jumping back and sputtering while May couldn't help laughing.

“A-are you okay?” She asked between laughs, pulling Mudkip closer, and turning to make it harder to aim at Brendan, “I'm so sorry, Mudkip say you're sorry, you can't just water gun people!”

Mudkip made a sound, but it didn't really sound apologetic at all. It didn't open it's mouth to try another attack though, and May was content with that.

Brendan didn't look mad, just a bit grossed out and uncomfortable, “It's... fine. Guess Mudkip doesn't like me as much as I thought?”

“Or just likes me more,” May added, her tone light and somewhat petty like she often used with Max.

For his part, Brendan seemed to take it okay and laughed at her, “Yeah, yeah. You are his trainer now.”

“Yeah, I am.” May repeated, a bit slower. She looked down at the pokemon in her arms, which stared back up at her with the biggest eyes, the fin on its head twitching, tail waving a little.

“So, mom made food and sent it with me- there's enough for everyone, but Ash looked about to inhale it, so if you want any, you better hurry.”

When she looked back up, Brendan was already at the door, stepping out into the hall. She watched him go, before his words really hit her. Breakfast, food. Not pizza food. Setting Mudkip down, she patted it's head and quickly pulled her shoes on, tucking her gloves into her bag and strapping it back into place, “Let's hope there's food left for us, yeah?”

While May only had Max to compare to as far as eating habits of boys went, Not May had an older brother who had a bottomless pit of a stomach and she couldn't help but feel that it might just be the case with the two boys she'd be sharing breakfast with. Hopefully, Professor Birch might show a bit more restraint but it wasn't a chance she really wanted to take.

She left the break room, pausing at the bathroom to wash her face, before going to join everyone else in the main lab. Ash and Brendan were sitting side by side, and as she'd thought, Ash was taking big mouthfuls of steaming rice and eggs mixed together. It was a weird combo, but he seemed content, while Brendan picked more slowly at his own food.

The lab technicians were back, working at different stations, Professor Birch nowhere to be seen. Pikachu was up though, sitting on the floor by Ash's feet, eating some kibble looking pokemon food and every now and again taking a piece of fluffy egg that Ash dropped down for him.

As May sat down, snagging a plate and bowl, Professor Birch came in with two plastic canisters with a symbol on it May recognized as being a universal 'water' symbol, that stylized water drop that she remembered seeing on a lot of things back in Olivine. Being a port city it had had a lot of water type pokemon and owners there, even if Jasmine had been a Steel Type trainer. May actually had a pretty necklace she'd gotten back in Olivine with a jade water drop pendant that Caroline had gotten her for her eighth birthday when May had started talking about pokemon more.

She had left it at home where it was safe. It was too fragile for this, and only came out when they had the rare 'fancy' event or something to go to. It was such a simple symbol, easy to make and add to things like most of the symbols were.

May pulled one of the canisters a little closer, looking at the words scrawled across it's surface. _Premium Food for Water Type Pokemon._ There was a list of ingredients on the back, not that May knew much of anything about those. When she opened the tin the pellets inside looked almost exactly like the ones Pikachu was munching on. Glancing over the ingredients, with names she didn't know, May wondered if it was kind of like dog food.

Norman's pokemon food was all custom made, she'd watched her dad make it once. After they had just moved to Hoenn, and the gym's personal kitchen was still in a bit of renovations, Norman and Kenny had taken over the family kitchen. Norman had made special food for each of his pokemon. When May and Max asked, because of course they just had to know, he explained that while each pokemon type needed different things, each pokemon themselves needed special things too. And he made sure to keep them extra healthy by meeting each of those needs personally.

It was a lot of work, and staring down at the pellets in the container, May wondered what her Mudkip would need to eat. Not May had known all the berries and what their stat effects were at one point, and May could kind of remember the later games and their special treats. But it was obvious those were likely just special treats.

“That should last you a week or so, it's just a general water type food, but Mudkip likes it and it'll do okay until you can get somewhere that specializes more.” Professor Birch explained, as he picked up a plate himself, “There are a lot of things you'll need to know about your starter, actually. I'm guessing you know more than most about Pokemon care cause of your dad, but water types are a bit finicky when they're not in the water.”

May nodded along, taking one of the pellets to lean down for Mudkip to take. Zigzagoon jumped in and snatched it instead, evading May's hand when she swatted at him, as he moved a few feet away to nibble on the pellet. May took another, keeping an eye on the raccoon pokemon, to make sure Mudkip got the chance to take it. It's cool slimy tongue licked at her fingers, and drew a slightly grossed out laugh from her.

All the while, Ash had seemed to check into the conversation, “Your dad's a trainer?”

“Oh, yeah.” May blinked at him, wondering how much he knew about the area. “He trains normal type pokemon.”

“May's dad is the gym leader in Petalburg city.” Brendan chimed in around a mouthful of egg. “He's got some really cool pokemon.”

It was like a switch had been flipped, Ash lit up with excitement and suddenly May felt like it was bad idea to have let him know that. “Your dad is a **gym leader**?”

The way he said it, the reverence he held for the position was almost concerning. Like there was a sort of idealization to it, and it struck May that she knew almost nothing about Ash and his own father. It had always been a subject of debate in the fandom, she'd heard all sorts of theories, even had had her own preferences way back when. None of it mattered now, because Ash was a very real kid sitting across from her, with rice stuck to his cheek and his eyes all alight at the idea that he was meeting the kid of a gym leader.

“Yeah... We moved out here to Hoenn so he could be. He's a great trainer, Zigzagoon is actually his, he lent him to me so I would be safe on the way here.”

Ash squirmed with energy, excitement coming off of him in waves, and even Pikachu was looking ready to go. The yellow mouse, for all its chub, had climbed up to rest on Ash's shoulder, peering at May like she was the opponent. That was not a mouse she wanted to fight with, and the knowledge that her Mudkip would be especially susceptible to it's electric attacks, left her even more wary.

“That is so cool! It must be great to have a dad who's a gym leader, do you think he'd let me challenge him?”

“Uh...” May squirmed in her seat, more out of discomfort, and shrugged her shoulders, “I mean... He only takes trainers with four badges already so... probably not right now?”

Norman wasn't really particular about who challenged him, but she knew he'd mentioned it a few times. He felt it was only fair, May didn't know if that was true, given that as a gym leader she felt he should take on anyone part of the official gym challenge... but it fit with the games, each gym having to be done in a certain order to progress, and she did remember Not May being frustrated with Norman's gym. She did not look forward to battling her dad.

Either way, Ash deflated quite a bit, slumping in his chair, and staring at his food. It was pitiful and it pulled at her heartstrings in such a way that she wanted to promise him he could battle Norman- but it wasn't something she could actually be sure of. There was no way she could make that type of promise. Especially since she didn't know how her dad would feel when she got back and also tried to convince him to let her keep Zigzagoon.

“But four badges isn't a lot,” Brendan stated, glancing at Ash, “It'll give you time to get your team picked out too- you said you only have Pikachu, right?”

“Yeah, that's true...” Ash seemed on the cusp of bouncing back, but not quite there, “Sucks though...”

“The Rustboro Gym is near the Petalburg one? It's a bit of a hike but it's not _far_ ,” May offered, shrugging her shoulders, “Though not sure how well you'll do there with your Pikachu...”

The blank look Ash gave was concerning, he'd know Petalburg had a gym was the first he'd come across but he hadn't looked up what gyms were what? May's guide book had a few little details about each gym, at least calling them what they specialized in. Sure, her dad's gym wasn't in the guide yet, but the others were? She distinctly remember reading about how Rustboro had a Rock Type Gym, which doubled as a museum.

She had to admit, she was more interested in the museum part of it than the gym part. Just a little bit. Just like how in school she'd been excited about history and folklore of the Johto Region. Exploring the world itself, learning about it, was exciting, more so than just the battles.

“It's a rock gym...” May offered, only to be met with that continued blank expression. She knew Pikachu could handle a rock gym, distinctly remembered being a tiny Not May and being confused and baffled that Pikachu had beaten the first gym in Kanto and angry when doing it herself in Pokemon Yellow hadn't been quite as easy. But still, shouldn't it click in his head?

“Pikachu's an electric type?” Brendan piped in, arching a brow as he looked at Ash, waiting for the other boy to catch up.

“Oh!” Ash nodded, shifting his shoulder and glancing at Pikachu, “Yeah, we'll be okay! Pikachu's usually pretty good against rock types!”

Professor Birch was the one to step in there, “You're Pikachu has an amazing voltage, but it's still a type for a pokemon to fight.”

“Yeah, but we've won before.” Ash stated, reaching up to rub his pokemon's head, the Pikachu letting out that pleased 'chaaa' sound May could almost remember from the anime. It was so damn adorable she wanted to reach across the table to pet it too. May settled for feeding Mudkip another food pellet and letting Zigzagoon climb up onto the back of her chair, while Ash went on, “But yeah I'll have to catch something to help out, just to be safe.”

Oh, thank Arceus he had a brain. May really hoped that his proficiency in battle proved true in real life, even if he seemed a bit slow to catch up that not everyone knew whatever it was he knew. Was that a ten year old thing? Could be a boy thing maybe?

From there breakfast fell into almost a lull. May shared her food with Zigzagoon, while feeding Mudkip pellets, Ash finished eating seconds. Professor Birch and Brendan spoke occasionally, until the Professor moved to help the technicians with whatever they were doing. It felt almost rude to exclude them, but May tried to focus on her pokemon and herself instead.

“Oh, May,” Brendan said as May finished off her bowl of rice, “I found your bike on my way home last night, I left it outside for you.”

Her bike.

The one she'd left in the woods, definitely nowhere near the road that she'd seen Brendan go down the night before when he'd left. The one that she was 99.9% sure Ash and Pikachu were meant to destroy, as per the rules of Pokemon Anime. The one she had completely forgotten when Brendan had fallen and she'd gone tumbling with him in their attempt to save Professor Birch from rowdy Poochyena. She wondered if her parents would be angry if they found out she'd completely forgotten it was a thing? Oops.

“My bike...! Where did you find it? Thank you!” May stood up, startling Zigzagoon so much it nearly fell off the back of her chair, “Mom would be so mad if anything happened to it!”

“Uh... yeah... You might wanna look at it before you get excited...” Brendan stated a bit ominously, shrugging a little apologetically and leaving a sick feeling in her gut.

Leaving her dishes, May went immediately to go check on her bike. It wasn't hard to find, right by the door propped against the wall. There were weeds in the chain, and it was definitely dirtier than it had been when she'd had it yesterday. But the breakline that connected the handles to the breaks were broken... it looked like they'd been chewed and May found herself fingering them a bit sadly. It wasn't like it couldn't be fixed, but she didn't know how to do that...

“Oh man, that really sucks...” She heard Ash say as he stepped outside with her, Brendan right behind him.

“I'll have to walk it all the way back to Petalburg...” And didn't that sound so much more daunting than just walking normally.

“At least you won't be alone on this walk?” Brendan offered, and both May and Ash looked at him in confusion, which he met with a shrug and a warm smile, “We're all heading that way, it just makes sense to walk together, yeah?”

May and Ash exchanged a look. Of course May had already settled on the idea that she would be sticking to Ash for a little bit, just to make sure he didn't get himself killed doing something stupid. Like he probably would on his own. But she hadn't figured out how to broach that subject just yet, and at what point Brendan had decided to come along, she'd like to know because she had definitely missed that memo.

“You're doing the gym challenge too?” Ash asked, looking a bit excited at the prospect.

May stepped in, “I didn't know you had a pokemon...”

From seemingly nowhere, Brendan pulled a pokeball. Like all pokeballs it was pretty nondescript, “I got my license recently too, you know.”

May was vaguely aware of that. It made sense that they got them around the same time, she wondered how deep the counterpart thing went. But Brendan hadn't had a pokemon the day before- why wouldn't he have brought out his own pokemon to help, rather than using one of his dads? Were they going to have to compete??

“Dad said he had a trainer coming to pick out their first pokemon, so I wanted to wait, and also needed to get my stuff together. I didn't know if I really wanted to travel yet or wait a bit.” He shrugged it off and smiled at them, “But after yesterday, I think I'm ready to go.”

“What pokemon did you pick?” Ash asked, moving a bit closer, only for Brendan to shrug him off.

Brendan tucked his pokeball back where he'd hidden it before- maybe on his belt? And waved Ash off, “You'll see later, isn't the surprise more fun?”

“Yeah but I wanna know...” Ash grinned at him, all white teeth and eager excitement.

“I bet it was treecko, huh?” May said, the words sliding from her lips thoughtlessly. The rival always picked the pokemon strongest to the protag, if they went with game logic, it meant he had to pick treecko to go against her mudkip. It just made sense, and while Ash sounded over the moon with the idea immediately talking about how cool that would be, Brendan watched May for a long moment, his expression a bit off, calculating almost, like he was trying to read her. It was unnerving.

“I mean, just a guess... You seem like the... grass type, type of person...?” That was a thing right, May could think of a few gym leaders who just basically _were_ their pokemon type too.

“Actually, I picked Torchic.”

“Oh.”

They blinked at each other, observing one another. It felt strange almost. Ash had gone silent, looking between the two and the awkwardness that had fallen over them, looking far out of his league, and May was kind of glad because she didn't know how to break the tension, she didn't really trust Ash to do it tactfully.

Was tact a thing ten-year-olds had? Given her experiences in this life so far, she had to say... not really. 

“So you three should probably head out soon if you want to get to Petalburg before it gets too late.” Professor Birch came out with them, two backpacks in one hand and three devices in the other. May took her bag, and Brendan his, and each of them took one of the devices when Birch held them out longer, “Those pokedexes should help you out on the way, try not to be too rough with them, alright?”

When the three nodded, he smiled at them, “You'll probably do best to stop in Oldale Town, you can sign up for the Gym Challenge there. Though, maybe you should use the phone here to let your mom know you're heading out, May?”

Clutching her bag, May nodded, “Yeah I really should, will you guys wait for me, please? I'd rather not walk alone all that way, but I definitely need to call my mom and let her know I'm on my way home!”

“Uh, yeah okay, we can wait...” Ash seemed unsure but May didn't wait longer than that before she brushed passed Professor Birch, back towards his office with the only phone she knew of.

No one corrected her, so that's the one she used. The phone call with her mom went significantly better than the one from the day before. It also was much quicker. May didn't mention the bike, but she made sure to point out that she was walking back with both Ash and Brendan, so she wouldn't be alone. Her mother seemed unsure about that at first, but after a moment blew it off.

May wondered if everyone's mom's were as lax about stuff like this in this world. Before Caroline had been a fair bit more protective, still pretty content to let May kind of do her own thing (and thank Arceus for that), but it felt like there should be something mentioned here. Traveling with two boys? Maybe it was just Not May's experiences in her past life, but it felt kinda weird. Or maybe it was because they were so young? May didn't know if their ages made it better or worse that they were walking two towns over together.

She had to stop getting caught up on it though, it would take all day and more to sort through the weird thoughts and feelings about how much leeway she had now just because she was ten and old enough to have a pokemon.

“Is dad at the gym? Should I come home first or...”

“Max and I will be at the gym today, Max wants to spend some time with the pokemon and your dad does want to see you, so why don't you just bring your friends straight there when you get here, okay?”

May nodded, knowing that was exactly where Ash would probably want to go anyway. It would just make it easier to go straight there. Maybe try and catch a zigzagoon on the way and see if her dad would let her keep the one he'd lent her and take a new one instead... maybe?

It was a hope, at least.

The boys were still there when May got back, but they looked eager to go. Brendan had her bike, and Ash was looking at his pokedex, touching the screen while Pikachu peered over his shoulder. May had barely looked at hers before shoving it in her bag, clearing her throat, she made herself known to the boys, and smiled at them as bright as she could manage, “So, you guys ready?”

“Yes! Finally.” Ash grinned that toothy smile of his and started down the road, back towards the forest. Brendan followed at somewhat slower pace while May put her pokemon back in their pokeballs.

It was gonna be a hard enough walk with those two.

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm giving up on the update every day, but still a few times a week! So that's a thing. 
> 
> I feel like it took me so long to do this one episode, who knows how the next will go XD Sorry? 
> 
> But I hope everyone's still enjoying it.


	7. A Ruin With a View - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May catches her first pokemon! 
> 
> It's not as easy as she expected for a completely different reason than anyone would expect.

\---> CONTINUE

The walk from Oldale Town had been pretty okay, aside from her run in with that Duskull, May hadn't had any complaints. Walking to Oladle Town was an entirely different experience and May was very much rethinking the idea that she should stick with Ash to make sure he survived his time in Hoenn. She just wasn't sure there was enough patience in the world for this type of endeavor.

Absently, she wondered if the Real May had had this much of an issue? Likely not, since Ash was the Main Character and well-loved.

May did love Ash, the Ash she'd grown up watching, catching and training pokemon and being what was essentially the ultimate pokemon whisperer, and all-around Good Chosen One.

The Ash she was with, however, was a ten-year-old, who couldn't let go of the fact that May's father was a gym leader. He wanted all the details, how often did Norman train, what were his pokemon like, what he did he feed them, where did they stay while they weren't with him, and all sorts of other things. May tried to answer some of them as simply as possible, other's she was purposefully vague, and a few she just outright avoided the question altogether.

For his own part, Brendan was left out of the interrogation until it was clear that May was done. And then Ash turned on him, a bit more subdued, but still eager to know. After all, Brendan's dad was a Pokemon Professor, a status that Ash clearly respected very much. The world in general did, May thought, but she could only watch as Ash asked Brendan most of the same questions. It made her wonder how close Ash was to Professor Oak back in Pallet Town.

She was listening to them talk about Professor Birch's studies, when she spotted something small and blue on the road up ahead. The boys hadn't noticed it yet when May realized what it was and squealed. It was just too exciting not to make a sound, as she pushed her way between the two of them, nearly toppling Ash over, and dropping her bike in Brendan's general direction.

Azurill was a _baby_ pokemon and it was one of Not May's favorites. Sure it was a water type, and she already had her Mudkip, but there were a few pokemon that the typing just didn't matter to May. She wanted one, and this was one of them. Her team could be a mess of types, as long as she eventually had an Azumarill on it. An Azurill was a great place to start.

“Oh oh, I want it!” She was already pulling out a spare pokeball with one hand while her other unclipped Mudkip's pokeball from her belt. She'd been very careful with that, with no outward sign of what was in each Pokeball she could only imagine keeping them in a very particular order to keep track of what went where.

Mudkip appeared in a beam of red light, stretching out as it settled on the dirt path, the fin on it's head tilting this way and that as it got settled. And then May was uncertain what to do next. The Azurill stared curiously, and Mudkip glanced back at her waiting for an order, and May... May was suddenly very unsure.

In theory, she was totally okay with Pokemon Battles, she'd played every pokemon game she could get as Not May, had watched the anime. As May she'd grown up in a world where it was the norm. Televised and a national sport in every region of the world. But she had never done it herself- aside from telling Zigzagoon to use a status affecting attack on a ghost type, and she didn't think that really counted. Not like this would.

“Uh... May?” Ash spoke, moving a bit closer, his Pikachu leaning into May's space, “You gotta tell Mudkip what to do...”

Brendan laughed, muffling it with his hand, but May couldn't be bothered to be upset about it, too consumed with her conflict. Noticing Ash's words hadn't worked to shake her out of it, he spoke instead, “You're gonna wanna catch it fast, before it runs away.”

And as he said it, Azurill looked ready to bounce away. May reacted more out of instinct than an actual desire to cause harm, “Mudkip, tackle!”

Azurill was quick, but not enough to escape Mudkip's attack. Mudkip knocked into the small round pokemon and Azurill rolled and bounced a few feet back, before climbing to its feet, eyes growing watery.

Guilt hit May in the gut like a punch. The air in her lungs seemed to woosh out and her chest felt tight.

The little blue pokemon's mouth opened, and May was ready for it to cry, ready to feel so bad she couldn't bear it, and instead, water rushed out to hit Mudkip in the face. It wasn't very strong, but Mudkip seemed stunned for a moment, shaking its head, gills fluttering. May didn't give an order, but Mudkip shot back a water gun on its own. The force of it knocked Azurill back against a tree nearby, and the little pokemon stumbled to its feet but seemed unstable.

She didn't have any potions or anything to treat it with, May felt horrible, she'd used her Mudkip and hurt it and this was just, she didn't think she could do this.

“May, throw a pokeball!” Ash gave her arm a light shove, looking at her encouragingly, “Quick, you can catch it now.”

May shifted a little, glancing at the pokeball in her hand, empty and ready for a new occupant, and wasn't sure. Zigzagoon and Mudkip liked theirs, they were happy. It was okay, right? Her dad's pokemon were happy, right? Biting her lip, May tossed the pokeball when Ash said her name again. She thought for a second the ball would miss, it wasn't like she practiced and it looked like it was gonna curve the wrong way, but the ball seemed to glow that red color, just a little and found it's way mid-air to Azurill.

It bopped the little unsteady pokemon in the ear and opened up, swallowing it in red light. When the ball fell to the ground, shaking, May couldn't breathe.

The guilt was there, and horrible, but there was also that tiny little thrill of excitement. She didn't know how to deal with the two, how to handle them- the conflict between the two. She'd caught her first pokemon, but being faced with actually using one pokemon to fight another May didn't know how to deal with it. How to think of this as any different than the horrible things people did to animals in Not May's world.

Was this on par with dog fights? Arceus, the very thought made her eyes sting with tears.

The pokeball stilled and with a click Azurill was hers. But she couldn't move, her feet felt stuck to the ground, and when she tried to make herself take a step her knees went weak and May hit the ground. Vaguely, she heard Ash and Brendan say her name, but it wasn't until she felt Mudkip nudging at her that she looked down at her pokemon to realize she was crying.

“May, are you okay?” Ash was crowding her space, one hand on her shoulder, worry etched over his face. He was too close, making it harder for her to breathe or think and she tried to lean back but couldn't make herself move. Behind him, Brendan stood just out of reach, looking just as worried, her bike tight in his grip.

“Ash, give her some space,” The other boy said, a savior in a stupid white hat, leaning a bit over Ash, to speak over his head, “Don't pass out on us, May, dad's not here to carry you and Oldale's still a bit away...”

Mudkip cooed at her and May sniffled dropping her hands down to her pokemon, pulling him in close, “I'm sorry.”

The words came out quiet, nearly inaudible to the others near her, but Mudkip just stared up at her in confusion, even as she folded down to press her forehead to the side of the little pokemon's head, the cool feel of its fin at her temple. It cooed again, made soft croaking sounds and squirmed in her hold, but didn't try to pull away.

It wasn't until another hand was on her shoulder that May looked up again, her body trembling slightly, eyes red with tears, and nose runny as she tried to calm down. Brendan had taken Ash's place in front of her, holding out the pokeball she'd caught Azurill in, “It's okay. You caught a pokemon, that's really great you know, we should get to the pokemon center to get it healed up, yeah?”

Staring at the pokeball, May didn't know what to do right away. She let go of Mudkip to carefully take the pokeball, as if it were made of glass she held it, staring down at the red top. It was so normal looking, like Mudkip's and Zigzagoon's, like every other pokeball that most trainers used. Not pretty like the specialized balls, but now it felt somehow more daunting to hold it in her hand than it had before. She didn't know how she felt about it, mostly worried about the azurill she'd caught.

May stood up slowly, holding the pokeball gingerly in her hands, “Yeah, a pokemon center would be good- it's not too much farther, right?”

She was pretty sure it wasn't anyway. When she looked up at Ash and Brendan again, eyes still watery, it was to see the looks of concern. Ash looked so confused, it really showed his age, and Brendan only looked a little more prepared to deal with a crying May. He offered her a smile, and she gave a weak, wobbly one back, pulling Azurill's pokeball close to her chest, “Let's get going.”

From there, the walk was quiet, May moved faster than she had before, eager to get somewhere her new pokemon could get healed up fast. Brendan mostly steered them, pushing May's bike along the path, while Mudkip hurried to keep up with his trainer. Ash tried to ask her what was wrong a few times, but it just made the guilt squeeze at her heart more when she tried to ask, he stopped after the third try, while Brendan took up the conversation, asking Ash questions about Kanto.

May only partly listened to the two of them. She was more aware of the warmth of the pokeball in her hands and the way the forest was thinning. It didn't look like it had yesterday when she'd come through this way with her bike, though she couldn't remember them taking any odd turns, not that she'd been paying too much attention. When they stepped out of the woods, however, it wasn't into the town like May had thought they would come out.

Instead, the forest had thinned into a mostly clear area, up ahead were towering rocks. If May's mind were a bit clearer she'd recognize them as the ruins that were outside of Oldale, ones she'd seen but not bothered to pay much mind to. Even now, she only looked up at them for a moment when Ash mentioned them.

“This was Oldale a long time ago- people don't come through here too much anymore, but it's a bit quicker than the normal road.” Brendan explained, before reaching out to grasp May's elbow and lead her and Ash through old half-gone buildings and down the hill.

May lit up only when she caught sight of the Pokemon Center, the large red P on the building the main indicator of what it was. It gave her a bit more pep and speed, down the hill and into the town, hardly noticing anything until she was in front of the building, her chest heaving.

The inside of the pokemon center was crisp and clean, like a doctor's lobby almost, with a few other trainers milling around. Ash paused near the door, and May left him there to make a beeline for the main counter where Nurse Joy was. She didn't even notice that Brendan wasn't with them anymore.

In the anime and games, Joy always looked essentially the same. Pink hair in a distinct style, blue eyes, a white nurses dress. It was all very distinct. In real life, they weren't quite so identical. The Nurse Joy in Olivine had had long black hair in a braid, May had met her once while attending a pokemon class Gym Leader Jasmine had been pulled into doing that May had begged to go to. In Petalburg, May met the Nurse Joy when her dad first went to pick up something from the pokemon center, and the Nurse Joy there had a softer pink hair, the only time May had seen it, it had been pulled into a ponytail, and she'd had freckles all over her face. It was cute, but May had been a little disappointed to see they didn't look alike, even if they shared the same last name.

The Nurse Joy at the counter of this pokemon center took one look at May, with her red watery eyes and tear-streaked face and nearly rushed around to check on her. But May was quickly shoving her pokeball across the counter, “I'm sorry, but can you check on my Azurill?”

Joy's brown eyes went wide for a moment, before she took the pokeball from May's trembling hands, “Did something happen to it?”

“I just caught it- I just... I...”

“It's the first time she's caught a pokemon,” Ash supplied, coming up behind May, still sounding a bit confused. She felt Brendan join them a moment later, coming to stand on her other side and almost took a form of comfort in the way they'd crowded her, unlike how she'd felt back in the forest. Mudkip was still at her feet, it's cool damp side against her leg as it looked up to watch the interactions and try to offer comfort.

Joy's expression turned from concern to relief. She held the pokeball with care in one hand, and with the other pulled a clipboard from under the counter, setting it down in front of May, “I know it can be really startling the first time you catch a pokemon and it gets hurt, but it'll be okay. Can you fill out this for me, while I go check on your pokemon for you?”

May blinked blearily at the clipboard, the form on it looked familiar and not. She'd never filled one out herself and had never heard of anyone doing it. She took it slowly, picking up the pen that was tucked into the metal clip, “I... yeah.”

“I'll help you, May.” Ash stated, giving her a hopeful smile.

She gave him one back, “Thanks, Ash, I'd appreciate it.”

Joy nodded to them, then motioned over to a set of couches off to the side, “You can have a seat over there. I'll be back in just a bit, okay?”

It was only when Brendan and Ash led May towards the couch that Nurse Joy disappeared into the back. Not being able to see her pokeball anymore made her guilt and panic jerk upwards, but she was able to push that bit back, reminding herself that Nurse Joy would take care of her new pokemon, make sure it was okay.

In the meantime, she found herself staring down at the form in her hands. It wasn't too long, just a few questions on it about her pokemon, none of which she had the answer to. How old was her pokemon, did it have any allergies or medical conditions, how had it gotten hurt. She could only answer one of those, so she looked at the other questions, ones she had a chance of answering.

Her name went to the top, and besides that the ID number on her Pokemon License that she had to pull out of her bag, pausing to rub gently along Mudkip's head fin. The pokemon made a pleased purring sound, and it was soothing in a way May couldn't have predicted.

“There's a box right there, so they know you just caught Azurill, they'll be able to give you all the other information once they know that.” Ash explained, pointing out the little box under the area for the injured pokemon, “Since it's your first time, they'll make a profile for you for all the pokemon centers in the region, so next time you can just give them your License and fill it out for any new pokemon!”

It sounded so official and hard. Even stranger that Ash knew the protocol so well. She was grateful for it though, quickly scrawling the number on her license next to her name and trying to fill out the information she could. Most of it was just copied from the license- her birthday and age and the town she lived in. It wasn't exactly like a drivers license but it was close.

“Have to do this a lot, Ash?” Brendan asked, looking over May as she bent over the clipboard, “I thought you only had Pikachu?”

“Oh, yeah, I only brought Pikachu with me- but I have a lot of Pokemon back in Kanto. I got a lot in Johto too! They're back at Professor Oak's lab though.” Ash's voice was light and excited, as he quickly fell into the topic of his pokemon.

When she finished the form, May tucked the pen back into the clip and stood up to walk back to the counter. Though Nurse Joy hadn't made an appearance again there was a Chansey there now, that made a soft melodious cooing sound as it took May's form from her. It made a few more noises, though May couldn't make sense of them at all, “I'm sorry... What?”

“Probably wants your license too.” Ash bounced up next to her, leaning on the counter to look at Chansey, “Can I get a form too- This is my first time in Hoenn- Oh and Brendan needs one too, right?”

Brendan was still back at the couch, pushing himself up to join them once his name was said, shrugging as he walked.

Chansey smiled at Ash and pulled out two identical forms to the one May had just filled out, then turned to wait for May. She handed over her license a bit hesitantly, watching closely when the pokemon took it to scan at a machine in the corner. It was so similar to being at a doctor's office she felt like she might be caught more in a flashback of Not May's than in actual pokemon center. It did happen sometimes when things synced up just right but this wasn't the type of place May had expected it.

Ash was done filling out his form by the time Chansey was giving May back her license. He dropped his down on the clipboard, it looked worn and frayed despite being shiny plastic. Brendan was still filling out his form, but May could see his license had the same new look her own did. It made her think of the in-game Trainer Cards almost, but different still, she wondered if it was bad to look at someone else's, was it nosy? Or rude? She'd only seen her dad's once, but it had been freshly renewed at the time, so it wasn't like it looked that different from her own.

By the time Brendan had finished his form and Chansey was returning his and Ash's licenses, Nurse Joy finally returned. She didn't stay behind the counter though, instead of walking around it to hand the pokeball back to May directly. She looked pretty, all soft curves under her pink scrubs. Almost motherly with the way she looked at May and handed back Azurill's pokeball, “Your Azurill is okay, a bit startled but alright.”

May felt like she might start crying all over again, relief flooding her as she held the pokeball close. “I'm so glad...”

“It can be really hard the first time you battle a pokemon, but you shouldn't worry too much about it. They're tough, built for the type of battles they face. Try to remember that next time, alright?” Joy explained, waiting for May to nod in confirmation that she'd heard, before continuing, “I'm sure Chansey got all of your information, so I'll add Azurill's to your file, do you mind if I look at any other pokemon you have? I'll get them registered and then I can give you some information on your new Azurill, does that sound okay?”

May shifted her feet, one hand reaching for Zigzagoon's pokeball when she remembered that Zigzagoon wasn't her pokemon yet, still her fathers. Instead, she took Mudkip's pokeball and returned him to it, before handing him to Joy, “I don't think he got hurt, but he probably is tired from walking all the way here... My only other pokemon is my dad's Zigzagoon, but he hasn't been out since this morning...”

“That's alright. I'll take Mudkip and check him out.” Joy's smile was so warm, so patient that it was soothing in and of itself. May wished the actual Nurses and Doctors she'd met were like this.

\--- > SAVE GAME

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is shorter than planned, not sure if I like it, but I like where I have it going so that's enough for me! 
> 
> It was really hard to actually write though and I feel almost bad for putting May through it...


	8. A Ruin With a View - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May gets some good advice about Pokemon Battling

\---> Continue

Once May had calmed down, Azurill's pokeball safely attached to her bag right next to Zigzagoon's, the boys convinced her to have lunch while they waited for Nurse Joy to be finished with their information and May and Brendan's starters. Joy had taken their Pokedexes as well, as well as the Kanto one that Ash had brought with him. It was interesting to see the Pokedex that Not May had childhood memories of- even a toy version of it, but it was gone from sight nearly as soon as she'd noticed it.

Before they went for food, Ash showed them around the pokecenter real fast, “They're all basically the same, I think.”

He showed them the lounge where they could sit around with other trainers to talk Pokemon, the rooms they could use for free when they had to stay the night, the bathrooms with full showers, and finally the small area they could eat at. They had to pay for the food still, but that wasn't too bad.

May sat by the window while Ash and Brendan talked about the pokemon centers. While she'd calmed down immensely, she was still quiet, and very aware of the way Brendan and Ash looked at her every now and again, as if afraid something might trigger another panic in her. Mostly, though, she was lost in thought. There was so much she needed to think about now.

The plan had been to become a trainer, do the gym challenge. Play out that fantasy she'd had as a child the first time she'd been one. But the actual effect it had on her just to catch a pokemon had felt so immense, so startling, and she didn't know what she wanted to do about it. She knew in the anime the Real May had been a Coordinator, but... she still wasn't sure she wanted to do that either...

Shifting in her seat a bit, May finally tuned into Ash and Brendan's conversation. They were talking about Pokemon Professors again, Ash going on about Professor Oak, and Brendan making a few comments here and there.

“Ash,” May spoke, setting her chopsticks down on the edge of her plate, “Can I ask you something?”

They both seemed startled by May's sudden attention, but it only lingered for a moment. Ash was smiling at her soon enough, and Brendan watching with a curious expression, both seemed eager to see some kind of reaction out of her that was less distraught.

“Yeah, sure, May. What do you wanna know?”

Absently, May's hand drifted to where Azurill's pokeball rested. It was warm even though her gloves, “You've been a trainer for a while right? How do you do it? Like... The actual battling? Don't you worry about it?”

Maybe Ash wasn't the best person to ask, May reasoned, he was always eager to battle but still so young. She didn't think Ash would have ever put the kind of thought into battling that May, herself, was doing right then. She didn't think she'd run into anyone, really, who would see this from her own perspective. They were all from here, where it was so normal, an everyday thing, but now that she'd made the association of it with Animal Abuse from Not May's world, it was hard to get around it. But he was the _Main Character_ , and that meant he was a good person to start with, right?

For his part, Ash blinked at May, silent for a long moment, long enough that she really was reconsidering having asked him at all.

Maybe she could take it back? Laugh it off?

“Well... yeah, I worry about it.” Ash started, May could feel herself and Brendan both focusing on the dark-haired boy. Ash ruffed Pikachu's hair where the pokemon sat in the booth next to him, “I mean... Pokemon do get hurt in battle and stuff and that's kinda scary, but... I also know they like it, Pikachu and I have been together for a while and we both wanna be the best! Pikachu and I like to battle, and I always make sure my pokemon wanna do it too.”

“Oh...” May's gaze dropped down to Pikachu, who's ears went lax with the attention Ash was giving it, it's eyes closed and a soft pleased 'chaaaa' sliding from its lips. She supposed it as true, Pikachu was always ready to fight for Ash in the anime, and they seemed to have the same bond here. She stroked Azurill's ball, and let her fingers brush against Zigzagoon's as well.

“Maybe you should get to know them more? You just got Mudkip and Azurill, I bet once you know them a little better it'll be a lot easier!” Ash grinned at her, wide and bright, so sure of himself.

May tried to think of a time in both her lifetimes that she felt so sure, but couldn't clearly come up with anything. It was nice, reassuring in a way, though it felt kind of silly to be reassured by someone so young when she knew she should be the one reassuring him of things instead.

“You know, May,” Brendan drew their attention, “You could try something else too? Pokemon Battling isn't the only thing you could do. Contests are pretty popular too. You'd still battle a bit, but it's not nearly as important?”

“Contests?” Ash was leaning on the table now, eager, interested, “What are those?”

“Do they not have them in Kanto?” May asked, genuinely curious. She knew Contests and such were created for the Hoenn games and kept on in Diamond and Pearl, but this was the full world where things weren't exactly done the same way. She could remember a few times seeing Contests televised while she was living in Johto. She'd watched a few, actually, because they were amazing and beautiful, she'd never put much thought into doing them, really, remembering she'd not liked them much in-game, but watching Pokemon perform was so pretty.

Ash's face scrunched up, confusion written there, “Uhh... I don't know.”

He glanced at Pikachu like the little round mouse had the answer, but Pikachu just tilted its head in the same confusion. May couldn't deny it made her laugh, which felt really nice.

“Yeah, they have them in Kanto too. They're not as popular there, but they are there.” Brendan started, “Pokemon Contests are competitions like the Gym Challenges, but you don't really focus on the battling aspect- it's not about your pokemon's **strength** or your **battle** strategy. They look at how beautiful, healthy, and skilled your pokemon are in different things. There're different categories for it, to fit each type of pokemon.”

Brendan spoke of it with a level of excitement that May had never had for contests. He lit up with it, “The performances focus on the beauty of a pokemon's natural abilities and talents, as well as the trainers' ability to keep them in good shape- it's really important, a lot of Pokemon Breeders get into it too!”

“They do?” It made sense, when May thought about it, now that she was thinking about it. “I didn't know that...”

“Oh yeah! A lot of really big names in the Pokemon Breeder scene get into them, I know some don't cause they feel like it's a lot of show and very little concern for the actual pokemon, but I don't think that's true. It's about raising your pokemon right and helping them shine to the best of their capabilities!”

“That sounds so cool!” Ash was grinning, he did look a little less interested than he had been in the topic of battling or pokemon in general. He couldn't match Brendan's energy over the topic, but he certainly proved interested enough to listen and hear about it.

The energy was so much better now, both with Brendan's excitement over contests, and Ash's advice about getting to know her Pokemon better, it was just... lighter, better. She was actually feeling better now, and couldn't help but smile alongside the boys, “Are you gonna sign up to do Contests then, instead of battling, Brendan?”

The boy next to her gave a firm nod, “Yeah! You have to sign up at a contest site, and the nearest one is in Rustboro. I'm really looking forward to it- Torchic and I are gonna do our best!”

“Yeah! That's awesome!” Ash cheered and May grinned alongside them.

From there everything devolved into talking about training and plans. The boys didn't ask May much on hers after Ash asked if she was going to try battling again and all she could offer was an impartial shrug, but she did get involved when Brendan talked about types of contests and what he was hoping to do.

“I actually picked Torchic because I think a fire pokemon is a better start for contests.” He'd admitted awkwardly, “Grass types are good for it too, just not as flashy so early on.”

“That's pretty valid,” May offered him, thinking back to her reasoning, and really, did anyone really need a good reason to pick their first pokemon? They were ten.

“Grass-types can be pretty cool too, though.” Ash started, going off in a spiel about his Bulbasaur and Bayleaf. May kind of wanted to ask how many Pokemon Ash currently actually had, but in truth, she was kind of afraid of the answer. So while he talked, she instead contemplated how many pokemon were too many?

Her dad had quite a few, but he was a gym leader and had space specifically set up for them. Most people May had met growing up either didn't have a pokemon at all or maybe had one. It was more on par with people in Not May's world having pets. But then she'd also grown up in Olivine City, where space was a bit tighter so it made sense that no one would be running around with a big pokemon, or a lot of them unless they were planning to be a trainer of some sort.

She had noticed it was more common to see Pokemon out walking about with their trainers here in Hoenn, maybe because even though Petalburg was a city, it was more entwined with the nature around it. Its motto was fitting, after all, _Where People Mingle With Nature_. It was something she liked a lot about Petalburg.

When they eventually made their way back to the main lobby of the pokemon center, Nurse Joy was dealing with another trainer, their full six pokeballs on the counter. They looked a little frazzled, nowhere near as upset as May had been when she'd rushed inside earlier, but still not okay. Ash was walking towards the phones in the corner, mentioning he wanted to make a call back to Pallet Town before they moved on, while Brendan and May both paused to watch the Trainer talking to Nurse Joy.

It felt rude to stare, but seeing them there made something dreadful pull at May's gut. Like something she should be paying close attention to, but didn't know why. It was with a bit of hesitance that she moved to join Ash by the phones, glancing back at the counter every now and again.

Brendan didn't join her though, lingering back. When May looked at him, he just waved her on, so she went.

The older man on the other side of the video call was recognizable from books and tv interviews Max had dragged May into sitting through. She'd enjoyed them, though reading Field Reports that Professor Oak had published could be just as boring as it was interesting at times, and more than once she and Max had fallen asleep to them. Not May hadn't been fond of Professor Oak, didn't really dislike him, but May definitely knew she didn't look at him as some great mind like most of the Pokemon World seemed to do. Still, seeing him chatting with Ash so cheerily was kind of on parr to seeing a celebrity, and May couldn't help the little thrill she got from it.

She rested her hand against the back of Ash's chair and leaned into the frame just a little bit, to get a better look without interfering. They were talking about Ash arriving safely and Pikachu being okay, May didn't listen too closely, grinning a little when Ash mentioned her and Brendan traveling with him.

And then Ash tilted his head to glance at May, before looking back to the screen, “Actually Professor, May had some trouble catching a pokemon, maybe you can help her out with that?”

“Oh?” Professor Oak's expression turned curious, and May felt herself blush.

Ash pulled her into the screen a bit, giving her an encouraging look, and she fumbled a little, one hand on the desk to keep from falling over as she leaned half over Ash. “Um... Hi, Professor Oak, I'm a big fan, my brother and I never miss your radio show, and we've read a lot of your books!”

She felt stupid babbling, but that was how it came out, and there was something fun in seeing Professor Oak blush, his eyes warm and kind as he smiled at her, “Well thank you, May, it's always nice to find someone so young is interested in this old man's work.”

Maybe it was a bit odd that May was so well versed in his publicized papers and such. She was technically only ten, Max as only seven. Not exactly peak audience for things like Field Journals and research into the deeper meanings of Pokemon.

“What did you have trouble with?” Oak prompted when May didn't immediately go into her problem.

“Um... actually...” May bit her lip, and felt just a little uncomfortable, “So I never really thought about battling in terms of how it affects the pokemon- it's so dumb that I haven't, but I guess it never came up since I couldn't do it before. I just got my first pokemon yesterday, and when I caught my second- I don't know, I couldn't help but think about how scary it must be for Azurill, how much I could hurt it by accident. It's such a small pokemon, and now I'm just not sure how to handle battling. The idea of asking my pokemon to put themselves at risk and hurt others just feels really cruel to me. Ash says to just get to know my pokemon and know what they want, but I don't know how I feel about it at all. I've wanted to battle since I was little, but now I'm just not sure if I can do it.”

The professor's eyes were a bit wide, looking at May with something akin to surprise, taking in how she spoke and her words. Ash was silent as he leaned back in his seat to give May more room, but he peered around her arm to glance at the professor as well.

“Well May, that's a really big concern.” Professor Oak spoke evenly, “A lot of new time trainers have a similar problem when they first get faced with actually battling. It can be a hard thing to do if you're not ready for it, or if you don't know your pokemon well enough.”

May's shoulders slumped a little, both relieved to be reminded again that she wasn't the only one to have this type of reaction, as well as afraid of getting scolded in some way for letting her head get the best of her.

“Pokemon have been battling alongside humans as long as back as our recorded history goes. Most Pokemon will even strive to do so, to become stronger, to prove themselves, or even just for fun in many cases.” Professor Oak's voice was taking on the same tone he used in his radio show while answering any questions that someone might call in, “There are pokemon who don't particularly like to battle, and each pokemon is different, but like Ash has already told you, getting to know your pokemon better will let you know if they want to battle or not. Now there's no need to push yourself if you feel like you still disagree with the idea of battling pokemon, but know that more often than not, Pokemon enter battles willingly and that they're quite capable. Even in the wild, Pokemon will battle one another, even as just a pastime.”

Chewing on her lip, May mulled over the information and nodded. She didn't know if she felt like it answered the issue entirely or just expanded on what Ash had already told her- what she already knew... but hearing from someone like Professor Oak, who'd studied Pokemon his whole life and knew this subject better than most, still felt a lot more solid than hearing Ash tell her. “Thank you, Professor Oak, I really appreciate your answer.”

“Of course, helping new young trainers is what I'm here for.” He smiled at her again, “If you need to, I'm sure there's a lot of other people around you you could ask, most trainers love to talk about their pokemon and it might help you feel a little more secure by hearing from multiple people. Most trainers I've met who've struggled with this type of thing benefit a lot from just talking to the people they meet and finding out what's right for them and their pokemon, so don't be afraid to reach out, May.”

It was such solid advice, May couldn't deny it was excellent. “Yeah, I think I'll do just that. Thank you so much!”

“Any time.”

Not May may not have been too fond of Professor Oak, but May was liking him a lot already. Even if she never got to talk to him again, she thought this experience would definitely count as being a positive one for a long time. Not to mention, she was pretty sure Max would just die knowing she'd gotten to talk to Professor Samuel Oak directly! Too bad it wasn't really in person so she could ask for an autograph.

Ash grinned and pushed his way further back into the screen, “Thanks, Professor. I'll call back after my first gym battle and let you know how it goes!”

“Alright.” Professor Oak nodded, and then before Ash could hang up, he arched a brow, “Oh and Ash?”

May had moved away by now, turning back towards the counter, where Brendan was now talking to the distraught trainer, but she could still hear the guilt Professor Oak laid into Ash when he spoke next.

“Don't forget to call your Mother. She worries about you.”

Ouch. Not even subtle, but definitely effective.

 _Super effective_ , May thought with a giggle.

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I guess not much happens in this chapter, just some going on about May's struggle and a little bit of fun interaction with Brendan about his passion. I wanted to make this chapter longer but I feel like this is good for one chapter. 
> 
> I suppose I should note that Brendan is the character I'm struggling the most with- not because I'm having a hard time writing him, but because I don't have as much to go by for him. So I'm doing my best. XD 
> 
> I'm also finding things are gonna change more in this fic from the anime than I expected...


	9. On The Way To Petalburg

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Trio heads to Petalburg and May gets an eventful meeting with her new pokemon

\---> CONTINUE

When May wandered over the other trainer wandered away, still looking upset as they moved to sit down on the same couches that May had when she'd had to fill out the paperwork she hadn't expected. She watched them sit with their head down, elbows on their knees. Brendan's expression was concerned, but he didn't move to join the other trainer, instead looking back at May and giving a weak shrug.

“What happened?” She asked, careful of her volume. It was kind of rude, but at the same time, curiosity bit at her insides, Brendan had to know something if he'd stayed back to talk to the other boy.

Brendan glanced back the distraught trainer before turning his attention back to May, “Sounds like he was out fishing and ran into some bullies... a group of them, I think? They beat his team up pretty bad.”

Sucking some air in, May felt a wave of empathy. She couldn't even begin to imagine that, or dealing with it alone, “That's so horrible...”

“He said they were all dressed in red hoodies- sounds like a gang or something...” He sounded like he was thinking out loud now, not so much addressing May. The frown on Brendan's face was somehow distressing in and of itself, it was far too serious. She'd preferred his excitement over the contests while they were eating.

Still, the mention of red hoodies struck a chord in her, and she didn't like it. They'd already run into Team Rocket, but that definitely sounded like the start of another Team. She didn't really know all of what happened in the Anime in Hoenn, but May knew well enough about Team Magma and Team Aqua to know she wanted to be pretty careful. In truth, she liked to tell herself that both could be handled by adults- or she certainly hoped so. “Has someone called Officer Jenny... or?”

Shrugging, Brendan gave a sigh, and turned to lean against the counter, “I'm betting Nurse Joy will. Just to be safe? But it sounds weird. There's not a lot of gang trouble or anything around here?”

“Yeah...”

Oldale was relatively small, it wasn't anything like a city, and like most of the Pokemon world, it seemed pretty quiet as far as trouble makers went. Sure, Team Rocket was now a thing, and it sounded like maybe Team Magma and Aqua were- because of course if one was here, the other had to exist too, right? Two sides of a coin.

She really, really didn't want to have to get involved. What happened to just being a trainer?

Ash Ketchum happened. Team Rocket happened. Her own inability to disassociate animal abuse and actual pokemon battles happened.

Huffing, annoyed not just with the world around her, but herself as well, May crossed her arms and glared at the floor. Was this the price of being a 'main character'? She kind of wished she'd just been placed a 'character of the day' instead. Just born in the pokemon world and one little adventure with Ash at some point, and then off into obscurity. No big plots, not major interaction with the real danger. Wouldn't that be nice?

“Wow, what's the faces?” Ash knocked both May and Brendan out of their thoughts, blinking between the two of them, “You guys look really upset...”

Brendan was the first to recover, “Just a bit of stupid trouble out by the river.”

“River?”

“Yeah, up on Route 103.” Brendan glanced back over at the kid on the couches, “It shouldn't be anything that the cops can't handle, but it really sucks...”

Ash followed his gaze, looking thoughtful for a moment before he looked about to steel himself. Not May hadn't been an older sibling in her life, she'd been the baby of her family, and that gave her the very clues she needed to know that the look on Ash's face meant trouble- he was about to throw himself into something that wasn't his business, and no matter how tough his Pikachu was, one pokemon couldn't take out a whole group.

“I guess it's a good thing we don't need to go that way. With Officer Jenny there, we wouldn't want to get in the way.” May jumped in, hoping she could be the voice of reason before something happened and someone- Ash most likely- got hurt, “It'd probably be better if we head out as soon as we get out pokemon back, yeah?”

It was obvious from the way Ash's face scrunched up a bit that he didn't really agree with her. She couldn't help but wonder how much of Ash's trouble with Team Rocket was actually his fault. Was he a bit more like Red than she'd thought initially? She didn't really remember Ash actively seeking out trouble so much as just getting it thrown at him repeatedly. Her concern over traveling with him, or leaving him to his own devices, doubled.

“Yeah, that's true. Besides, you've gotta get home before your mom gets more worried, right, May?” Brendan offered, and finally, Ash seemed to calm down a little, accepting the knowledge that they still had a plan for the day. He didn't look completely convinced but it was better than expected anyway.

So, May took what she'd gotten and run with it. “Yeah, mom'll worry if we take too long. I'm sure if we get there early enough we can catch her at the Gym with dad- I know you can't get a gym battle yet Ash, but I could still show you around the gym?”

And there it was, that spark of interest and excitement. Trouble by the river was gone from Ash's mind and his eyes lit up with the desire to get on with his journey as a Gym Challenger. May could have sighed relief, but she didn't want either of them to realize she was trying to push him back onto the path he'd had originally.

“Yes! Exactly.” Ash glanced at Pikachu, “We'll get to check out the gym before we battle- it'll be so cool, right, Pikachu?”

The little yellow Pokemon made an affirmative sound, and that seemed to settle it. Ash was set back on course, and hopefully, disaster was avoided. At least for a little bit.

“I'm sure Nurse Joy will be done with our Pokemon soon so we can get going.”

The hope that they wouldn't be lingering too long was proven correct. While Nurse Joy's attention was obviously taken by other trainers and work, eventually another Nurse, someone who looked a little fresh at the profession, fresh out of school maybe, came out with their pokeballs and the three pokedexes. It took a moment to figure out who's was who's, but as soon as everything was sorted, May was steering the boys out of the pokecenter.

The faster they got to Petalburg the less chance there was of trouble with anyone with extensive criminal backgrounds. It didn't mean there wouldn't be any trouble at all, though. After all, it was still Ash.

The first bit of the trek wasn't bad though, Ash was just as interested in his new pokedex as May and Brendan were in their own. Juggling the bike and pokedex was a little hard, but May managed, her eyes glued to the screen, all three of the trainers being mostly lead by Pikachu. Probably not the best idea, but May was okay with it because her pokedex was a shiny new gadget to get to play with.

It wasn't exactly like a smart phone, not the way the one from Kalos always looked to be, but it was pretty cool anyway. With a bit of fiddling she could find all of her information on it. Though the physical trainer license was still in her wallet, there was a digital copy inside, her name, ID number, and a line up of pokemon.

Staring at her own image on the screen, just a little head shot she remembered getting for her license a few weeks ago, was really strange, but more than that, so was just seeing it all there. She'd admired the card when she'd gotten it in the mail, seeing it now on the pokedex just seemed easier. Absently, she wondered if she should leave the physical license with her mom in Petalburg, to keep from losing it.

Below her information was a generic looking image of a mudkip and one of a azurill. They were the only two in the list, and May felt somehow really guilty that she couldn't register Zigzagoon, he wasn't hers yet... or maybe not at all. Wasn't that a mood killer. Absently, she used the arrows and keypad to bring up Mudkip's profile, skimming over the details there before doing the same with Azurill's.

“I wonder if I should let Azurill out...” May wondered out loud, for the moment oblivious to the boys glancing back at her. “Maybe it'd help me get to know her better...”

Still, there was part of her that was just anxious over the idea that her Azurill would hate her. She had started the battle, and no matter what Professor Oak or Ash said, she was scared. “Maybe not...”

“You should,” Surprisingly it was Brendan that spoke. He still hadn't showed off his Torchic or even seemed too intent to let it out, but there he was with a bright smile, encouraging her, “You should introduce yourself to Azurill now, before we get into Petalburg and you have to introduce her to your mom and dad.”

May went completely still, eyes going wide. She hadn't even thought of that. Would her parents want to meet her pokemon? Max would, for sure, she could practically hear him demanding it already, what would her mom and dad think though? She knew her mom had heard her talk about water pokemon in the past, but would her dad be disappointed her first two pokemon were both water types? It wasn't like he'd have a lot of room to judge, being a type specialist himself, but it was still a possiblity, right? Especially this early on.

If he thought her pokemon were too good, would he take Zigzagoon back without a second thought? Would he care that she was really attached to the silly little raccoon pokemon already?

“You think a lot, May.” Ash's voice rang out after what felt like forever of watching May just staring down at her pokedex. His was smiling good naturedly when she looked up at him though, if a bit impatiently, “Why don't you both let your pokemon out- Pikachu's almost never in his pokeball, and it's a good way to get to know them, just to walk with them, ya know? It helps a lot.”

“Yeah, sounds good to me!” Brendan pulled Torchic's pokeball out and released the orange chick. It shook out it's feathers and looked around curiously before immediately moving to rub it's head against it's trainer's leg affectionately. He bent down to pat it's head, fingers sliding through soft feathers, “Hey, Chamo.”

“Chamo??” May arched a brow, staring down at the little pokemon who was quick to react to it's nickname. She knew a lot of people didn't nickname their pokemon- still an odd thing to her given Not May's memories of all sorts of pets, all with names ranging from the grouchy old grey cat named Arnold that she remembered kicking her out of her bed when she was nine to the sillier named dog Dummy who used to lay in her mom's flower beds and get yelled at for it nearly every day. But most pokemon didn't get nicknames, it wasn't unheard of, but most seemed content to call them by their species name.

“Yeah, I thought it'd help us bond faster!” Brendan grinned, ruffling the Torchic's feathers one last time as he stood up, “Come on, May, let yours out too.”

Letting out Mudkip was easy, the damp little pokemon shook it self out and then beamed up at May before looking around, the fin on it's head quivering. It's attention was quickly drawn to Torchic, the two greeting each other with a series of coos and chirps. If she'd had a camera she would have video taped it- it would have been a hit online, she was sure.

Zigzagoon came out next, though he wasn't technically hers. As soon as the red light faded around him, the furry pokemon was climbing up May's bike to balance precariously on the handle bars, quick to nuzzling and lick at May's chin while chittering excitedly at her. With both hands keeping her bike steady now, May instead tilted her head to brush her nose against the top of Zigzagoon's head, “Nice to see you too.”

Only when he decided he'd gotten the accurate amount of affection, which was a few more nuzzles and one kiss to right between his ears, did Zigzagoon opt to get down from the bike, hoping down with ease, before immediately brushing his side up against Mudkip and disrupting Torchic entirely. The little chick stumbled out of the way and let out an annoyed sound before trying to peck Zigzagoon. Only to get swept up into Brendan's arms. The fire pokemon struggled a bit before eventually settingly, clearly annoyed, and Zigzagoon seemed very pleased with himself.

“Be nice, please?” May tsked the pokemon, and he seemed somewhat abashed. It didn't look very real... but she'd take it for the moment, bending down to brush her fingers over the top of Mudkip's headfin, gentle, smiling at the water pokemon as it leaned into the contact.

“Come on, May, let out your azurill, I wanna see it.” Ash encouraged, and May felt her stomach drop. She straightened up, hand going to the last pokeball. Ash was smiling, Brendan was quiet, and May could feel all of the pokemon around her watching her, their eyes seeming to burrow under her skin.

Carefully, May put the kickstand on her bike out, leaving it to stand on it's own as she took a deep breath, and unclipped Azurill's ball. “Okay... okay.”

She was still scared, and she hated that, hated it more than anything. Hated the way her fingers itched to just put the pokeball back on her bag strap, and just keep heading home. Hated the fear that pressed beneath her skin at the memory of the battle she'd had to catch the pokemon in the first place. The full blown panic she'd had before was gone, simmered down into a stillness that rippled through her chest, not quite squeezing but there.

“Right.” Biting her lip, May gave a very light toss, letting the pokeball tumble out of her hand and come back on it's own after it opened.

In that beam of red light, the small, round form of Azurill appeared. Tiny and blue, with twitching round ears and a long tail bobbing behind it. The pokemon looked around a bit, taking in the group around her, trainers and pokemon alike, before scrunching up it's face.

May was sure it was about to start crying, watery tears and panicked wails. Instead, it turned to face Zigzagoon and Mudkip, and out came a spit out a stream of water. It wasn't very strong, but it hit both the other pokemon in the face. It puffed up it's little body, looking ready to fight as Zigzagoon shook itself off and growled, baring his teeth. May moved between the two quickly, scooping the wiggly Azurill into her arms, and shushing Zigzagoon, “Shh, shh, don't get mad, she's just a little... feisty.”

That didn't seem like a good word for it, but Zigzagoon huffed and immediately rushed to Brendan, climbing up his side despite Torchic's annoyed squawks and settled himself on the boy's shoulder. Honestly, May was a little hurt, but also a little glad- Zigzagoon seemed perfectly content to half perch on Brendan's shoulder, dripping water on the boy's shirt and used one paw to attempt to dry himself off.

“Whyyy, why me?” Brendan shifted his shoulders but couldn't dislodge the raccoon, and ended up trying to calm his Torchic instead, “Its fine- it's okay, we're okay.”

Azurill, for her part, seemed intent on squirming her way free. She twisted, turned, curled her tail up as close to her body as she could, and upon realizing that she just could squirm her way free of her trainer's arms, puffed out her cheeks with water and spat it immediately into May's face.

Standing there, face and hair dripping water, her own face scrunched up, May didn't know what to do. She heard Zigzagoon screech, and Mudkip's own form of a growl, but it was easily lost to the sound of Ash and Brendan laughing, even Torchic's chirps were clearly mocking her. At the very least, Azurill had gone still, looking at everyone else before letting out an amused chittering sound, settling down in May's hold.

It was only when she was sure that Azurill wouldn't go tumbling, that May lifted a hand enough to wipe her face off, “Okay... so... I don't know if that means you hate me or not...”

“Azuuu?”

That answered nothing. Absolutely nothing.

But when May looked down, caught sight of the pokemon's big eyes, she couldn't help but feel at least a little calmer. Azurill looked amused, pleased as it half curled it's long tail around May's hip, the round end of it bumping against her leg.

“That's... a good sign, right?” She looked at Ash and Brendan for help, but Ash was still snickering and Brendan just shrugged at her.

Boys were no help.

Mudkip pressed against her leg, looking up at the pokemon getting snuggled, and May shot him a soft smile, “I didn't forget you, I promise.”

May knelt down slowly, so as not to disturb Azurill, so she could reach down and pet Mudkip as well. The two water pokemon seemed to regard each other. Azurill made a series of noises and Mudkip returned them, neither sounding aggressive or angry or upset, and May felt herself settle into the idea that they were okay. No one was mad, no one was upset, and she was so glad for it. Especially when Mudkip pushed up closer to bump his face against Azurill's in what could only be an affectionate gesture that drew a long, “Awwwwwwww,” out of May.

“W-wait, Zigzagoon!” Brendan's cry was the only warning May got, she didn't even get the chance to fully look up to see what was happening.

Zigzagoon had lept from Brendan's shoulder, tail hitting the boy in the face, and flew through the air to collide painfully with May's shoulders. The weight of him knocked into her like a sack of bricks and May tumbled back, knocking Mudkip to the side and just barely kept from accidentally squishing Azurill as she hit the ground.

May would have been furious, but Ash broke out in another peal of laughter, and Brendan was rushing over to check on her while Torchic crowed his own amusement. Zigzagoon's claws dug into May's shoulder, unwilling to be dislodged even when he was half in the dirt, crawling half down May's front to push his nose into Azurill's fur and snuffling at her, uncaring of the smaller pokemon squirming and starting to cry.

The next water gun hit them both in the face.

Having strong pokemon was the ideal to be a good trainer, May knew that. It was important. But nearly drowning twice by her new pokemon didn't sit too well with her and May was just glad that Azurill's water gun wasn't too strong. Other than the stinging feeling of water going up her nose, and Zigzagoon shaking his fur out right against her face, It was... manageable. She'd survive.

She might kill Ash and Brendan for both laughing at her again, but she'd make due.

At the very least, she thought as Mudkip crawled back up into her to check all three of them over, she didn't have to worry too much about her pokemon hating her or her Azurill not being able to handle itself. If anything, Azurill might be more of a trouble maker than Ash was.

Yipee.

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I took two days of not writing at all cause I couldn't figure out how to continue on, but I think it was good for me. I like how this chapter came out, and that's what counts- also Azurill. I love this Azurill already. 
> 
> I have to admit the pokemon interactions are some of my favorite things. But I do worry they'll be sloooow to get to Petalburg at this rate, I don't think Mudkip is known for being very fast. 
> 
> May's pokemon roster, without Zigzagoon (since he's not actually hers yet) are as follows; 
> 
> Mudkip ♂ | 007 | OT: Professor Birch | Lvl. 4  
> Mud Fish Pokemon | Water  
> Ability: Damp | Nature: Gentle | Characteristic: Alert to Sounds  
> Height: 1'09 | Weight: 16.8 lbs  
> Attacks;  
> Tackle | Normal/Physical [Pwr: 40 | Acc. 100% | PP 35]  
> Growl | Normal/Status [Acc. 100% | PP. 40]  
> Water Gun | Water/Special [Pwr. 40 | Acc. 100% | PP 25] 
> 
> Azurill ♀ | 055 | OT: May Sapphire | Lvl. 2  
> Polka Dot Pokemon | Normal/Fairy  
> Ability: Thick Fat | Nature: Bold | Characteristic: Nods off a lot  
> Height: 0'09” | Weight: 3.9 lbs  
> Attacks;  
> Splash | Normal/Status [PP 40]  
> Water Gun | Water/Special [Pwr. 40 | Acc. 100% | PP 25]  
> Tail Whip | Normal/Status [Acc. 100% | PP 30]


	10. There's No Place Like Hoenn - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Trio finally reaches Petalburg City.

\---> CONTINUE

  
When May had left home the day before in the morning, it hadn't taken her horribly long to get to Oldale Town, really things had gone downhill after she'd left Oldale. But getting from the town to Petalburg City proved to take significantly longer. Between the slew of Pokemon they had walking with them now, Mudkip going at a slow leisurely pace, Torchic and Zigzagoon constantly running off into the trees only to be chased back by Pikachu, and Ash... oh, Ash.

When May had left Petalburg she had, of course, run into a few kids wandering the forest and catching pokemon of their own, but having only had her Zigzagoon she had turned down two of them, and avoided a third with little effort. This was not the case with Ash Ketchum who heard the words 'wanna battle' and jumped headfirst into it.

No one really stood a chance against Ash's Pikachu though. All of the kids they ran into had some pretty simple things, Zigzagoons, Wurmples, Taillow, one kid had a Poocyena which, May would not deny she eyed jealously. And Ash worked his way through all of them with relative ease. Him and Pikachu preened and seemed to live off the fact that they'd won the battles, even if they were a bit worn out after.

“It's so weird that you're so tired...” May stated, looking over at Ash as he took a long big gulp from a water bottle he'd pulled out of his bag. He hadn't been directly part of the battles but he _looked_ like he had. He was worn out, but in that pleasant way like one got after exercising or something like that.

“You didn't feel it when you caught Azurill?” Ash asked with wide eyes, looking utterly baffled.

May hadn't felt much but shock and guilt and panic when she'd caught her Azurill. Maybe it was a matter of how close you were to your pokemon? But even that made May question how the relationships between pokemon and humans even worked. Was it something deeper than just friendship? It was definitely something to look into more when she had the chance. Maybe she'd get the chance to ask Professor Oak, it was his specialty, after all.

“Not really... I was a little caught up in other things, I guess...” Her eyes flickered from the tiny blue pokemon in her arms to the one keeping pace with her at her side, “Maybe we just need to know each other better...?”

Mudkip beamed up at her, all happy and pleasant, and May smiled back. “We'll get there, right?”

“Just takes time.” Brendan chimed in, keeping a close eye on his Torchic as the little pokemon seemed intent on escaping at every chance to run through the woods. May was actually glad she'd picked Mudkip, if only to not have to chase more than just Zigzagoon through the forest. And really, the raccoon seemed content to rest on her shoulders or on the seat of the bike she was still pushing at least part of the way.

Eventually, the forest thinned out until they could see Petalburg City, with its tall buildings and paved streets. The motto of the city came out more in the way that there were trees on every street, some of the buildings had ivy crawling up the sides, there were flower beds and at least three huge parks. It was very much a city, but so green and open that May couldn't remember ever seeing one quite like- Not May's memories of cities were full of tall towering buildings of metal and steel and glass, with cold grey concrete and grungy streets. Olivine had been clean, but still more steel and concrete than anything else.

Ash was the first to speak as they caught sight of the city, “Alright! Finally!”

“Finally?” May and Brendan mimicked, watching as Ash picked up his speed. He took off, Pikachu right behind him, leaving the other two in his dust.

Brendan gave May a quick shrug before he put Torchic back in it's pokeball with a quick, “Return, Chamo!” before hurrying after Ash.

For her part, May was a bit stuck. While Mudkip wasn't the slowest of pokemon, he wasn't exactly the fastest either, and with her bike, she couldn't go running and expect to keep up. She especially didn't want to go hurrying down the hill with Azurill dozing in her arm. At the very least, Zigzagoon seemed settled to riding on the seat of the bike while she pushed. “Boys. It's gotta be a boy thing.”

Mudkip made a chirping sound and May looked down at him, arching a brow, “Don't ever become like them, okay? No running away and leaving part of the group behind.”

All she got in return was a twitching headfin and a few blinks. It wasn't the most expressive response, but she would take it to mean he wouldn't do that. Pokemon were loyal, right? That was a thing. Very loyal to their trainers, if their trainer treated them right. They were pretty new at this, but she was hoping she could be that type of trainer. Eventually. Life was all about goals, right?

She didn't know what all she wanted to do in the long run, but she did want to at least get to where she could battle. Do a contest or two maybe. Explore while she was still young before going back to school. Once upon a time she'd thought of becoming a gym leader herself- or even being a member of the Elite Four or the Champion of a Region. Now she was a bit less certain of that, so back to school sounded wise if she couldn't figure things out. She'd make a list of pros and cons maybe, see how she was feeling when Ash moved on to the next region.

By the time she made it into the city she had officially lost both Ash and Brendan and wasn't entirely sure she wanted to find them. There were a few places she could have looked, the pokemon center or maybe even at the gym- even if Ash couldn't battle her dad yet, his excitement over the idea of him seemed to be almost overwhelming. May wasn't sure she was up for that herself though, and with a bit of reluctance, she decided she'd do exactly as she'd promised her mom and go home first. She was sure she'd find the boys again later.

With the city being full of people and life and _cars_ , she returned all three pokemon to their balls and picked up her pace. A few people smiled at her, but mostly she walked through the city without too many people paying attention to her. The anonymity was nice though she didn't think it'd be too long-lasting given she passed at least three posters of her dad, proclaiming the Petalburg Gym being officially open, as well as a few people wearing t-shirts with her dad's badge on the front.

The city as a whole was super excited about the gym being opened. Though she hadn't really had time to make friends- and also hadn't really tried to do so- May had still heard a few people talking about it excitedly. It wasn't really so much that Petalburg needed a reason for people to pass through, but they were definitely ready for the tourists, the business, whatever it brought. Still, it was weird to think of fan clubs for Gyms and things like that. Maybe in Unova, where May clearly remembered some of the Gyms there being very showcasey and having been a fan of that herself, it felt strange for here in Hoenn.

Still, stopping to see her Dad's face plastered on a glass window with 'Petalburg Gym!' written in big bold script was kind of cool. Her dad was _famous_ in this city. She was kind of happy to get out before people knew who she was, the last thing she wanted was that kind of attention. If she really did do gym battles, she didn't want people to assume she had an unfair advantage because her dad was a gym leader- it wasn't like he'd ever really taught her anything about pokemon, other than the basics of 'treat your pokemon right, and they'll treat you right!'.

And that was with all of her love for his pokemon that she was so quick to shove on him. In truth, most of her knowledge was leftover from the games and now all the studying she'd done as a kid. Which sadly wasn't as in-depth as she'd like. Just like in Not May's world, a kid with a college-level textbook was considered kind of weird, and she'd been mostly left to collect everything she could via the books and such that were more 'age-appropriate'. They were still full of good information, but not as in-depth as she wanted. The only exception had been Professor Oak's papers, mostly because both she and Max had demanded them for all the information. That was changing as soon as May got some money. Another reason to get the hang of battling.

The ₽3000 that her parents gave her sounded like so much, but it really wasn't. She'd tried to convince them to let her do stuff to earn more. She'd offered to help with cooking or cleaning, even to help take care of the pokemon in the Gym, but the answer was a resounding 'no', with both parents assuring her ₽3000 was enough to start with. And why pay for something she'd always done? Apparently. Being a responsible and good child meant also not reaping the benefits of more finicky children who have to be bribed to do their chores.

She regretted being a good responsible child.

Still, she'd only used some of it for breakfast once. The food at the pokemon center had been surprisingly free, but not something she thought she'd want to eat frequently. So, money for food, clothes, and definitely good supplies to care for her pokemon, was going to be needed. The ₽2144.79 she had left was just not gonna cut it for long.

It was with these thoughts of money and more importantly _the books she could get_ with money, that May didn't notice someone coming her way until they had collided with her. The surprise of it was more the reason she tumbled back than the actual force they had. Her bike clattered to the ground, and a few people stopped to look at them, but no one moved to help.

The boy who knocked her down was slight, a thin little thing with pastel green hair. He was having a coughing fit, head ducked, hand on his chest fisted in his shirt. Frankly, it was a pose Not May had known well, and it made May's chest clench in concern.

“Are... Are you okay?” She moved to her knees, shuffling closer, one hand resting on the boy's shoulder. It shook under her touch.

His head nodded, and slowly his coughing fell off into sputtering until it was finally nothing but slow deep breathes. When he looked up, water green eyes met hers, and May tried her best to give him a reassuring smile. He looked flushed and shaky when he tried to return it. “Sorry, I should have been more careful. You okay?”

“Yeah... are you?”

He gave a confident nod, but it didn't make it any easier to ignore the flush on his face or way he'd been coughing just moments ago. There wasn't really anything she could say about it, not knowing him, so she opted to change the topic, her mouth opening to speak only to have him cut her off almost instantly.

“You're May Sapphire, right??” His eyes had gone wide with excitement, “Your dad's the new gym leader- Your mom was in an interview, you look just like her!”

May floundered a bit, gaping at him in surprise, “What...?”

It was true that May looked like her mom. Same brown hair, facial features. Their eyes were only different and only by a few shades. Still, no one else had mentioned a resemblance at all and she knew her mom had only been part of one interview since her dad was being pretty careful about keeping his family and his professional life separate. Mostly.

Still, her name being said drew a bit more attention, and May was instantly uncomfortable with the stares.

“Do I? I didn't know I looked like the Petalburg Gym Leader's Wife. You must pay a lot of attention to stuff about him, are you a big fan?” She laughed it off a bit, getting to her feet and holding her hand out for the boy. People were starting to drift away. Thank god.

“Oh...” The boy let her help him up, and then gave a kind of nervous half shrug, “Yeah, yeah I really love pokemon, and getting a gym here in Petalburg is so cool.”

A fanboy, exciting. May didn't want to be rude to him, but also didn't want him spouting off about her resemblance to her own family like this, “That's really neat though- do you have a pokemon yourself? Are you gonna be a trainer?”

While she spoke she got her bike back up, giving it a once over. It wasn't like much could be done to make the damage to the breaks worse, but at the rate she was going, she wasn't sure she really deserved a new one. This one was taking quite the beating just being hers.

“I want to be!” The boy looked excited for a moment, but it drifted off into a rather resigned, sad look, “But I don't know if I can... I can't really go far from home...”

His hand drifted back to rest over his chest, and May felt something tug at her mind. His expression was so sad,she wanted to reach out do something to make him happier but she had no idea what to do. Instead, silence fell between them, thick and tense, even as the noise of the city around them kept going.

Shifting her feet, May reached down to brush her fingers against the three pokeballs still attached to her bag, each warm to the touch. “I mean... You don't have to be a _trainer_ to have a Pokemon, right? You could just... have a companion pokemon, right?”

“I don't know how to get one though... my mom and dad don't have any, and I don't think they'd get me one.”

Oh no. She was about to do something she knew she shouldn't do. She could feel it vibrating beneath her skin. Maybe there was a _good_ reason he couldn't have a pokemon. Maybe his parents had reasons for it. But the idea of someone wanting a pet, and not being able to have one just didn't sit well with her- and in this world taking care of a pokemon was so much easier than pets back in Not May's world.

“Well... I could help you catch one?” The words came out and the adult part of her mind could have face palmed at how stupid a thing it was to say. But the boy's face lit up and he was staring at her with so much wonder she couldn't regret it too badly.

“Really??” He leaned closer, his eyes flickering down to her pokeballs, then back to her, “I mean... I was gonna go to the gym and ask Norman but...”

“Yeah... I can help you.” May shifted her feet again, “Like, do you think your parents would let you keep one if you could catch one?”

“Yes! I do.” He smiled at her, “They don't have any pokemon themselves, but I know they'd let me get one if I could.. I just don't have any way to catch one... I don't have a lot of friends so I can't even borrow one for a bit.”

“Well, you can borrow one of mine.” May smiled at him, and patted her pokeballs again, “Just to get one of your own.”

“Thank you so much, really, you have no idea how much it means to me!” He held out his hand, “I'm Wally.”

Oh.

May stared at his hand for a long moment, uncertain. But also very sure of herself. This was probably bad idea- if he was really sick, and it was also not the way it was in the game. He was supposed to ask her dad, and her dad was supposed to ask her. But it was _Wally_. She couldn't _not_ help Wally as soon as she saw him. 

This was fine.

It was going to be fine.

Right?

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me a while, I had trouble with it, but it's DONE and I'm happy and I... got really caught up in research on money and stuff in the pokemon world cause that is just a weird thing in pokemon, apparently. 
> 
> Like we know it's a thing, and they obviously pay for things, but we never really SEE it, I guess?? 
> 
> Anyway, I'm using the idea that Pokemon money is basically the equivalent of Yen, so I can keep track of May's money like I would if I were playing the game... 
> 
> The symbol I'm using is actually ₽, which is for the Russian Ruble. It's as close as I can get to the Pokedollar symbol we see in the game? I don't know I probably made it more confusing but I like it so whatever. 
> 
> ALSO WALLY. So excited for him.


	11. There's No Place Like Hoenn - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helping others is usually a good thing

\---> CONTINUE

  
It was on the way to the forest again that May remembered she was supposed to be going straight home- or at the very least, she should be tracking down Ash and Brendan. The thought settled in her mind with a small bit of guilt, and then Wally's shoulder bumped hers and immediately she brushed it off. Helping someone else always came first, or at least, Caroline had taught her that over and over. So she would understand, May was sure. And Brendan had proven to be responsible and sensible, so she was sure he'd... Mostly keep Ash out of trouble.

At the very least they'd be okay for an hour or two.

She hoped.

Arceus, she really hoped.

She had been ready to leave them on their own before, so it was fine.

Wally talked the whole way to the forest, mostly about how his family was overprotective, how they worried about him. Almost sadly, he mentioned how they were sending him to live somewhere else. He talked about being new to Petalburg too, but how his parents were sending him to Verdanturf Town, where the air would be clearer and better for him. It sounded horrible, really, to be sent away by your parents, but also not too unusual. After all, May was only ten and she was sure her parents would have shoved her out the door if she hadn't been so eager herself.

“At least it's not too far?” May offered a bit weakly. It wasn't, really. If you followed the main roads it probably was, the world here was so careful about how they affected the world around them, so roads often took longer paths, preserving nature, and often leading to trainers traveling off-road. Verdanturf Town wasn't a long shot if you went off the main roads, but it was a lot of space to cover without the right tools- or pokemon.

The boy next to her had his head down, eyes on the grass as they walked, “Yeah. They can visit, I can visit... but really, I don't wanna move. I wanted to start my journey.”

Ah... that was sad. It also fit so well with what May could remember of Wally. How he'd wanted to be a trainer, how the protagonist in-game had helped gain the courage to be exactly that. Could she do the same? Should she?

“Well... the first step to ever being a trainer, is to get a pokemon! Do you have a license so you can have more than one, or?”

He shook his head, reached a hand up to rub at the back of his neck, “I was gonna get it, but... I've been a bit sicker lately. They're not wrong to worry about me, I guess.”

“That's no reason you can't try though,” May started, pausing when he looked up at her, “I mean, maybe going full pokemon trainer right now isn't great, but you can still get the license, you can catch pokemon here in the woods and I know Verdanturf has pokemon too- Route 117 has some nice one if I remember right from the guide books- oh and Rusturf Tunnel is right there- I'm sure the pokemon there wander out sometimes.”

His lips perked up into a half-smile, “Yeah, yeah that's true.”

“Some times, you gotta start small, ya know?” May grinned at him, “And that's okay, so I say go for it if you really want to.”

His smile got a little bigger, finally looking up fully to make eye contact with her, “Yeah, that's true. And I really do want to!”

“Then go for it! Even if you have to start late, or even if it takes a while, you can do it! Just gotta be determined, right?”

“Right!”

Somewhere in her mind was the adult reminding her that Wally was a sick boy, that had been such a big thing in the game, he'd been ill and it had been why his family worried about him. With that in mind, she probably shouldn't be pushing and shoving him to become a pokemon trainer, who knew how well his frail body could hold up to the harsh course a trainer had to take. But the way he lit up was so wonderful, how excited he looked and sounded, how could she not?

May left her bike outside the forest propped against a tree, and Wally stayed close to her as they walked off the path. She could feel his hand hovering by her arm, but he didn't grab at her, so she reached back took his hand, keeping him with her as she led the way through a forest she didn't know very well. They didn't have to go far to find taller grasses, and Wally nearly vibrated with excitement.

“Okay, do you know how to catch a pokemon?” She asked, glancing back at him, and grinning when he gave a quick nod. Smiling, she let go of his hand, “Alright then, you should be okay.”

She plucked Zigzagoon's pokeball from the other three, letting Zigzagoon out. The little raccoon immediately shook himself off, ran in a small circle to stretch, and then pressed himself up against May's legs, letting out a pleased croon.

Wally was watching with wide excited eyes, and May offered him a smile, “This is Zigzagoon, my dad leant him to me while I went to get my starter pokemon from Professor Birch... He's a good boy.”

Kneeling down, May ran her fingers over the pokemon's head, before stopping to scratch behind one scruffy ear, “Meet Wally, I want you to help him get a pokemon, okay? So listen well, and do what he says, okay?”

Zigzagoon looked at Wally, then back to May, and gave a loud chittering yip, then went to half climb up Wally's leg to push his head into the boy's hand, demanding pets. Wally did just that, a bit hesitantly, looking down at Zigzagoon like he'd never seen something so amazing.

Keeping an eye on Zigzagoon, May dug around in her bag for one of her empty pokeballs. Her fingers slid over the four she had left after catching her Azurill and plucked one out. In their smaller form, they were a bit harder to grasp unless they were attached to something, her gloves made it just a little bit easier. She held it out to Wally, waving it a little to draw his attention from Zigzagoon, “Here, to catch your pokemon with.”

He chewed on his lip and took the empty pokeball carefully, “I'll pay you back for it, I promise!”

“You don't have to.” She shrugged him off, “Just catch a pokemon and take good care of it, okay?”

He held the pokeball like it was made of glass as if it might break if he held it too tight. May wondered if he'd ever actually held one before. She could easily remember holding a few in her life prior to becoming a trainer, at school they'd passed one around once, everyone toying with it while the teacher explained a basic idea of how they worked, and she'd held her dad's a few times. Mostly by snatching them while he wasn't looking whenever he visited. It was how she and Max had met most of his pokemon before moving here to Petalburg. But Wally held this little empty pokeball like it was the most amazing thing in the world, something new and shiny- not a marble-sized ball she'd dug out of the bottom of her bag.

“Okay.” He held the pokeball to his chest, and looked up at her with the biggest brightest grin, “Thank you!”

Grinning back, May moved around him to rest her hands on his slight shoulders, and urge him towards the grass. There were a few pokemon milling about, “Alright, now shush you're gonna scare all the pokemon away. Better start looking!”

With that, Wally walked into the grass with Zigzagoon trailing after him. Most of the really low-level pokemon had fled, but walking in the grass almost always dug up other pokemon, and Wally's footsteps were light and quiet, nearly unnoticeable as he moved. Zigzagoon was... less stealthy, crashing through tuffs of grass and scaring out smaller pokemon. But none stayed in sight long enough for Wally to try and catch it.

May had been pretty sure that this would take maybe an hour at most? It had been such a short scene in the games. Just a quick 'hey do you know how to catch a pokemon? Yes? Well, I'm gonna teach you how anyway!' tutorial moment that no one ever needed by that point in the games. Yet, they were in the woods for nearly three hours.

It was sheer strength of will that kept May from checking her pokedex every five minutes to keep track of the time- who knew where her mother thought she was. Or what trouble Ash and Brendan had gotten into without her. She did eventually let Mudkip out to follow her as she carefully and quietly followed Wally and Zigzagoon deeper into the woods.

Wally was clearly getting discouraged, and Zigzagoon had to be reminded to stay on track a few times, but May kept pushing him on. Worse came to worse, she supposed she could try and catch something for him instead... Even if the thought of it made her chest clench and her hand immediately go to Azurill's pokeball.

“Ziiiig!”

The sound made both ten-year-olds jump, turning to watch Zigzagoon jump through a few bushes. After a bit of rustling a small white and green pokemon tumbled out with Zigzagoon chasing it, leaves, and tiny sticks stuck in his fur.

“Zigzagoon!” May scolded, moving forward by a few steps before Wally jumped forward.

“Use a tackle attack!” Wally's voice came out firmer, less shaky than May had heard it so far, and Zigzagoon jumped forward to do exactly as told. It rushed forward and threw it's body fully into the other pokemon, knocking it into the dirt.

May flinched a little, but Wally seemed unaffected, instead before the pokemon could even attempt to get up, he tossed the pokeball she'd given him. And just like when May had thrown hers, it was off course but seemed to change it's motion to zoom in on the pokemon, bathing it in red light.

Zigzagoon was the only breathing as the pokeball dropped the ground, and shook. May, Wally and even Mudkip were completely still. It shook a lot, so much so May wondered if maybe it hadn't been weakened enough, but eventually, it clicked and went still.

May cheered immediately, patting Wally on the shoulder as he stood stock still, “You caught it! That's so great! You did great, Wally!”

It was only with her prompting that he moved to pick the ball up, just as gently as he'd been when she'd first given it to him. “I caught it...”

Zigzagoon glanced between the two trainers, before rushing to May, squeezing it's way underneath Mudkip to knock the water pokemon over, before climbing up her body to rest on her shoulders, chittering in her ear while rubbing against her cheek. His fur was a little slimy from the needless assault on Mudkip, but she reached up to ruffle it anyway, “You did so good, Zigzagoon, thank you!”

Wally seemed to be still lost in his thought as May settled Zigzagoon down, and moved towards him. He looked up at her with big green eyes and May wanted so bad to pull him into a hug. Maybe pinch his cheek, those 'old lady' urges she had scoffed at as Not May, but found a lot harder to ignore as May. He gaped at her for a long moment, then grinned, all the excitement and happiness from the high of catching a pokemon seeming to nearly glow through him. “Thank you, thank you so so so much!”

“You and Zigzagoon did all the work, you don't need to thank me.” May patted his shoulder, and felt the boy wobble a little under the touch, which gave the flush to his cheeks a slightly more concerning appearance. Maybe they'd been in the woods too long? She didn't really know what he was sick from, so it could simply be too much for him? Maybe? “We should head a pokemon center, you'll want to get your Ralts looked at and registered, yeah?”

“Right, yes.” He sounded giddy, if a bit winded.

The walk out of the woods took a while, Wally was a little slower than before, and they had gone pretty deep. By the time they reached the Pokecenter the sun was getting too low in the sky for May's comfort. Still, she lead the boy all the way in and stayed with him while he filled out some of the paper work. It wasn't as in depth as her own had been, his pokemon wasn't for battling after all, but still a lot.

While he was talking to the nurse, handing over his forms and asking about his Ralts, May made her way over to the phones in the corner. Anxiety pulled at her heart but more than that was the guilt. It was a lot later in the day than planned, and she hadn't called home before. So, when she plugged in her home number now, and took a seat, May couldn't help but fiddle with her gloves and hope that her mother wouldn't be too terribly upset.

But no one answered. The phone rang a few times, before it went to an automated message. Normally, her mom would be home, and Max should be back from school for sure. If they weren't then May could only think of two options- either Caroline was out looking for her, or preferably, she was at the Gym. If they were at the gym it meant they'd be easier to find and maybe she'd even get lucky and catch Ash and Brendan there. Maybe.

“I didn't get your name.” Wally's voice dragged May out of her thoughts and startled her enough to make her jump in her seat. She twisted to look at him, a small smile on his face, and Ralts' pokeball in his grasp, “You helped me a lot and I didn't even ask. Sorry.”

“It's okay.” May stood up, motioning towards the doors, “So... You have to stay calm, and not make a big scene, alright?”

She thought of how much excitement he'd had earlier when he'd pinpointed exactly who she was. He hadn't fanboyed like that while they were busy in the woods, but they were back in the city, surrounded by people as they walked out into the street. May turned to lead the way back towards the Gym, Wally trailing behind her. It wasn't a particularly far walk, and for that May was pretty grateful, and her house was just a bit further back than the Gym.

“You were right earlier, I'm Norman's daughter,” May watched Wally, watched his eyes go wide and how his smile lit up again, “But I don't want people to know that okay, not yet, so let's not go yelling it?”

A thoughtful look passed over the boy's face, and May could practically see the gears turning, thinking over it bit by bit, before it settled into a soft smile, “Yeah, yeah that makes sense. I won't tell anyone... Thanks for helping me, May.”

Her arm reached out to curl around his slender shoulders, pulling him into her side and finding it odd that he was just a bit shorter than she was, fitting against her side nearly as well as Max did when she pulled him in, “Just return the favor someday, help someone else out. Pass it on and all that, yeah?”

Wally was staring down at his pokeball again, and May felt pretty pleased with herself. Her mom was probably worried, and she'd make that up some time, but for now Wally had his Ralts, and that was just such a good, nice feeling that May wouldn't let get ruined by adult concerns that she had chosen to ignore when she'd offered to help Wally.

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So not much in this chapter, next one we'll get back to Ash and Brendan and hopefully Max too. But I dunno I really wanted time with Wally, I just love him so so much, I hope I'm writing him okay. 
> 
> I'm also thinking a lot about other stuff to write with pokemon, but this will stay my main focus. There's so much ground to cover and it's taking me so long XD Sorry about that?


	12. There's No Place Like Hoenn - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Brendan finally make it to the Gym

CONTINUE?

\--- > SAVE FILE  
\------> There's No Place Like Hoenn  
Location: Petalburg City  
Player: Ash Ketchum

Finding the Petalburg City Gym wasn't really hard. Ash had been to cities where it could be really hard to find the gym, either when it blended into the rest of things, or simply because it wasn't advertised on every street corner. But it was obvious, painfully so, that everyone in Petalburg was _excited_ about their gym. There were posters, and ads and people wore t-shirts and merch. The face of a man with dark hair and eyes with a stern-looking smile was plastered over things with ' _ **Petalburg Gym!**_ ' in big bold letters.

“They really like their gym...” Ash said as he and Brendan made their way through the city, every now and again looking back for any sign of May behind them.

“Well, it is pretty new.” Brendan explained, turning a corner, “May and her family just moved here, so they're probably all really excited about it?”

Somehow the idea that it was a new gym made it even more exciting. They wouldn't have had a lot of challengers yet, if he could convince the Gym Leader to battle him he'd be one of the first. It may not mean much in the long haul, as far as getting all of the gym badges so he could compete in the Ever Grande Conference.

“Maybe we should wait for May, you know, since it's her family gym and all?” Brendan asked as they were passing the pokemon center. It wasn't like May being there would get Norman to actually let Ash battle him officially, but it still felt strange that they'd come here with May, only to lose May at this point.

Ash couldn't deny that, no matter how excited he'd been when he ran into the city. And in truth, a rest might not be a bad idea while they wait for her. Pikachu had battled a few people, even if he wasn't too badly ruffled, it was better safe than sorry, right? “Yeah... maybe. We could go to the pokemon center and wait for her?”

“Yeah. That sounds good.”

Aside from a few flyers for the gym and being a bit bigger the Pokemon Center in Petalburg was pretty similar to the one in Oldale. The nurse behind the counter checked Ash's pokedex and took his Pikachu to look the little mouse pokemon over. While they waited Brendan made a quick call back to Littleroot to check in with his dad, and Ash was left standing at the counter, tapping his foot and trying to ignore how bored he felt.

When it came to Pokemon, Ash had an amazing level of patience. He could sit for hours in wait of the pokemon he wanted, he could deal with one that was volatile and needed a lot more love and care than the others. It wasn't really wrong if people called him a 'pokemon whisper', because he was _good_ with Pokemon. Amazing with them. But when something wasn't pokemon related, his attention span and patience went out the window. And that was why standing at the pokemon center in Petalburg, waiting to get his Pikachu back, and for May to show up, was just exhausting and boring and he felt himself getting a bit jittery with excess energy.

Still, when Brendan came back and suggested they get a snack while they waited, he agreed. Anything was better than standing at the counter watching the doors. By the time they'd eaten though Pikachu was ready to come back and there was no sign of May.

And Brendan had pulled out a book of all things, as well as a notepad and pen. It was a guide book to contest strategies, the image on the cover was of a trainer with a pretty bug pokemon Ash had never seen before. When he peaked over Brendan's shoulder it was a lot of text with the occasional image or chart, but really it didn't look like a fun read. But Brendan seemed content to taking notes.

It all looked organized, color-coordinated, there were little drawings and everything looked so neat and put together. It actually kept Ash's attention for a few minutes just looking at how detailed it was.

People came and went, and Ash found himself squirming in his seat while Pikachu watched people go passed the building from a big open window. He fiddled with his hat, went through his pokedex a few times before he couldn't take it anymore.

“Do you think she got lost?” He looked out the window, then back to Brendan, “I mean, you said her family is _new_ here, so maybe she got lost.”

“Maybe? But that just means the Pokemon center is a pretty good place for her to go first, don't you think?”

Ash frowned, trying not to squirm, “Maybe she'd go home? Do you know where that is? Is the Gym near there?”

In truth, Ash didn't know if Brendan would actually know this information. They'd met May at the same time but it wasn't exactly the same? Their families knew each other at least. Still, Brendan looked like he was at least thinking about it.

“I mean.. I kinda know where they live? Dad and I came by before May and her mom and brother came here, but I only went once? We'd probably be better going to the gym?”

“Then let's go to the gym!” Ash said, grinning, “Maybe we'll run into her on the way?”

“I guess that's possible...” Brendan didn't sound like he really meant it, in fact, the look he was giving Ash was a clear 'I don't really think so', but Ash was up and out of his seat, ready to go. So, with a bit of reluctance, Brendan collected his notes and shoved them back into his bag so he could follow Ash out of the pokemon center.

They set out towards the gym, walking through the city at a leisurely pace, hoping that maybe May would pop up, but no matter how many people they passed, the brunette did not show up. Ash kept his goal on the gym, but he found himself looking for her in the crowd as well, only stopping when Brendan came to a halting stop halfway to the gym.

Ash hadn't been paying attention to the storefronts they passed along the way, but Brendan had. It was only Pikachu tugging at Ash's hair, causing him to turn in time to see Brendan pressing his face up against the glass.

 _Pokemon Boutique_ was written above the storefront in curving letters, and the open window had mannequins of pokemon wearing dresses, coats, ribbons, even boots. As a Trainer, Ash could only think of how hard it would make battling, but it was also so weird to see and associate with pokemon in general. He'd certainly seen pokemon with collars or ribbons, and once or twice (usually owned by little girls or older women) pokemon with a coat or something. But to see a shop designated for that specifically was... it was strange. Interesting, but still strange.

“Do you wanna go in?” Ash asked, a little hesitantly himself. He couldn't deny he was a bit curious, so when Brendan nodded, Ash followed him into the store. They were greeted by a cheerful woman, and Brendan was quick to start up a conversation. There was talk of fabrics and ribbons and Ash got lost pretty quickly. He did try to keep up, but it didn't take long for him and Pikachu to lose interest and drift off to look at a wall with scarves and silky ribbons hanging off of it. He found himself touching each one, feeling the different textures.

“You know, if you wanted to try a pokemon contest, Pikachu would probably be a shoo in for the 'cute' category.” Brendan's voice made Ash jump a bit, and he twisted to look at the other boy, which just seemed to make Brendan grin, showing off perfect white teeth, “Did I scare you?”

“No.” Ash said a bit too quickly, with narrowing eyes as Brendan snickered.

“Anyway, if you wanted to do it, you could use one of the pink ribbons, it's a popular color in that category- I'm getting one for Chamo.”

“Isn't that... a bad idea? Since it's a fire type?” Ash tried to imagine putting any kind of ribbon or clothing on any of his fire types and it sounded disastrous. Maybe not with _all_ of them, but with enough of them that it seemed unwise. The idea of putting a _ribbon_ on Charizard and nearly gave a shudder. While Ash was lost in his thoughts, Brendan brushed passed him to look through the ribbons, touching them and looking through every single pink one he could find.

“Chamo only has one fire move right now, so until I get a bit more training with him, I'm gonna focus on using what he does have. Torchic's are notoriously adorable, and until he evolves, that's what we'll focus on. But yeah, I'll probably try to use things that are a bit less... flammable.”

“You've put a lot of thought into this... like a lot.” Ash watched the other boy pluck several ribbons off the wall, and two scarves, all in varying shades of pink, “Is that all in your notebook too?”

“Of course.” Brendan hung his choices over his arm and moved to look at the bolts of fabric, Ash trailing after him, “I mean, don't you put a lot of thought into battles and stuff?”

That was true, Ash tilted his head to glance at Pikachu on his shoulder. Though he still messed up a lot in battles, he did think about them a lot. His Pikachu could generally handle anything they came up against, but when they needed more, Ash was good at figuring out what his pokemon could do and handle to the best of their individual abilities. He'd never done anything like take notes or anything, with Ash it was all _instinct_ , what he couldn't figure out through that was learned through trial and error. And persistence, Ash Ketchum was nothing if not persistent. “Yeah, I do. But not like you do, I think.”

It was a lot to think about, and Ash let it cycle through his mind as he followed Brendan from place to place in the shop. The woman manning the register joined them a few times, to cut fabric that Brendan picked (not just in pink, either, but in blue, yellow and red. He picked out a few threads, and looked at a few tiny hats that were clearly made for pokemon with relatively small heads, but didn't buy any.

By the time Brendan took his finds up to the register, Ash felt like he'd gone to the store with his mother. While Delia didn't sew too often, he'd gone alone enough times when she wanted to make new curtains or try something new for the restaurant to know that it was a long, boring and drawn-out process. It was slightly more interesting to hear Brendan mumble about the right cut and fold of certain types of fabric or the strength of the thread but it all went over Ash's head.

Brendan had a big canvas bag full of the things he bought slung over his shoulder when he finally looked ready to go and Ash perked back up as he made his way out of the store.

“Okay, to the gym...?” The words were tentative as now every store on the street was a possible barrier between Ash and his actual goal, but he hoped that the firm nod Brendan gave him would prove to be binding enough that they wouldn't get sidetracked again.

And it did, though Brendan seemed lost in thought about his newly purchased fabrics and such, they made quick work of getting through Petalburg City and finally arriving at the Gym. Though the city had been so full of signs and posters, the gym itself looked almost underwhelming in comparison. It was situated just at the edge of the city, it's very traditional front building nearly blending into the forest around it.

No one greeted them at the door, and Ash was quick to slip inside, pausing just long enough to wonder if he should take his shoes off or not. The outside looked so traditional but as he made his way inside, but there wasn't a genkan and he couldn't see anywhere tatami would be, so Ash walked right in like he would at any other gym. There was no one manning the door, and by the time Brendan had caught up, Ash was searching down the hall, Pikachu on his heels.

“Hello?” He asked opening the biggest door. It lead into a large room with high windows and a lot of polished floor space, with an open dirty floor in the center, obviously where battles would take place.

“Is anyone here?” His voice almost echoed through the room. 

“Ash, we shouldn't just come walking in without anyone else here...” Brendan had followed after him, arching a brow and glancing around momentarily.

“Hey, don't be so loud!”

Both boys turned around to see a smaller boy standing in the door way they'd come in from. With a book in hand, and a pair of glasses that looked just a bit too big for his face, the boy looked between the two of them with a look of sheer annoyance, before finally locking his eyes fully on Ash.

“I know you!” Stomping into the room, the boy grinned up at Ash, “You were in the Johto League's Silver conference! Your charizard was amazing! Is that your pikachu??”

The boy moved quick, from Ash to Pikachu, dropping his book and lifting the mouse pokemon up to look at it closer, “You are so cool!”

“Yeah, I was... you watched the Silver Conference here??” He knew that the whole event was televised in Johto, but in Kanto he'd never seen an actual league from another region, so the idea that his loss in Johto would follow him all the way to Hoenn was kind of... daunting. He'd done so well up until the last part of the tournament, and he didn't really want it to follow him while he worked his way through Hoenn.

“May and I recorded it before we moved!” The boy dropped Pikachu and grinned, “You lost though right? Your Charizard just couldn't stand up to that Blaziken- Do you think you'd do it differently if you got the chance to do it again? You didn't use your Charizard's abilities all that well- or really you shouldn't have used a _Charizard_ against another fire type pokemon, even with it's flight capabilities giving it a boost against a fighting type, don't you think a water type might have been better?”

“Uh...” Ash fumbled, “I mean, maybe but-”

“And really that's pretty bad for someone getting that far. Wait wait, was your name? Oh don't tell me, I know it!” The boy went on, “It was Alf, right?”

“Ash.”

“Close enough.” The boy grinned, all toothy smile and gleaming glasses, “You failed the Silver Conference, not that impressive, is that why you're in Hoenn now? Think you can do any better? It's gonna be rough after failing in Johto.”

“Hey, it was the second round of the _Victory_ _Tournament_ , I got really far and did really great- It was the _championships_!”

“Losing is still losing though.” The boy straightened his glasses, and let his eyes drift from Ash to Brendan for a moment, “Are you guys here to challenge the gym leader?”

“I am!” Ash stated, “Is he here?”

“Ash, you can't, remember?” Brendan butt in, nudging the dark-haired boy in the side, “You need four badges and three pokemon.”

“You don't even have any badges?” The younger boy sounded so smug, “No way can you beat the gym leader without any badges!”

“Hey, Pikachu, and I can take anyone on!” At his side Pikachu agreed, but the confidence shared between trainer and pokemon went completely over the younger kid's head, making Ash frown. Had he been so annoying a child? Maybe he had, but he hoped he hadn't been.

“Yeah, I don't think so.”

“You're Max, right? I'm Brendan, our dads know each other.” Brendan moved between the two, effectively cutting off any possible bickering that could continue, “Have you seen May, we lost her on the way to the pokemon center.”

  
“No? We haven't seen May yet, Mom said she'd be home earlier but she hasn't come back yet. I think mom and dad were gonna go look for her soon.” For the moment, Max seemed to deflate a little, “Wasn't she supposed to be with you? You _lost_ my sister?”

“We didn't _lose_ her.” Ash stated, sounding a bit annoyed, “We just kind of... don't know where she is...”

“Isn't that what it means when you _lose_ someone?”

May's brother was kind of annoying.

“I'm sure May'll get here soon,” Brendan offered, “What about your mom and dad, are they here?”

“Yeah.” Max walked around them, making his way back the way he came. The others followed him back out into the hall and down further into the building, “Though they're not gonna be happy May isn't with you.”

“I mean, she couldn't have gotten too lost... we split up right at the edge of the city so...” Ash trailed off, looking at Brendan for help but the other boy didn't offer much at all. Just a shrug of the shoulders, and Ash wondered how much May's parents might actually be upset at them.

What would it mean to have a gym leader upset at him? Would it make it harder to get a gym badge later? Absently, he thought of Brock and all his siblings and how protective he'd been of them before going with Ash. Would May's parents be like that?

Max led them into a small kitchen towards the back of the gym. Really it wasn't much more than a fridge and some counter space with a microwave tucked into the corner and a sink. Sitting at a little table were two adults, one holding a cup of tea. The other was easily recognizable from all the ads they'd seen on the way.

Norman Sapphire was a relatively tall man with broad shoulders- he didn't look too much like May, but there were definite similarities between Max and him. The woman at the table was a bit more similar to May, with lighter hair and a pretty face. She looked worried though, Ash had seen that look on his mom's face more times than he'd like to think about, and when she looked up at him he felt immediately guilty that he had run off and left May behind.

“Brendan,” Norman spoke, hope in his voice, “We were getting worried.”

“Where's May?” The woman said, looking between the two boys, eyes narrowing as both wore their guilt on their faces, “She's not with you, is she?”

“Um...”

“We got split up, but she should be around soon... she was okay though and she has her pokemon with her.”

The information did nothing to soothe May's mother's obvious worry, but Norman placed a hand on her shoulder and offered a warm smile, “I'm sure she's fine. She has Zigzagoon with her too, and he should be able to handle anything this close to the city.”

“Maybe we should go look for her, just to be safe?” The woman set her tea down and stood up, “After what happened yesterday, I'd feel a lot better seeing her in person.”

“May'll be fine, Mom, I bet she's catching pokemon- There are supposed to be Poochyena on Route, you know, and she said she really wanted one! Maybe she went to get one!”

Neither Ash nor Brendan could imagine May catching anything after the mess that had been her catching her Azurill, but it seemed to have a calming effect, so they weren't going to ruin that. Still, Ash didn't know what to say, in the face of a mother's worry his excitement over the gym had dissipated almost entirely.

Luckily, Norman stepped in, wrapping his arm fully around his wife as he turned his gaze to Brendan, “It's been a while Brendan, I was surprised when your dad said you had waited to pick your pokemon until May had.”

And Brendan took the chance to talk about anything easier than the lost daughter of the gym leader, “Yeah, I wanted to give her the chance to pick, since dad said she wanted to do the Gym Challenge. I think I can make anything work in a contest- all part of the challenge!”

“Oh, you're going to be doing the contests then?” Norman's wife's tone took a far more calm and almost friendly tone, “You know May talked about those a little when we were getting ready to move, we watched a few on tv, it looks like a lot of fun.”

“Yeah, they're really popular here, I was kind of surprised May knew about them, I know they're not as big in Johto or anything.” And Brendan was off, excited and enthralled by the topic which May's mother seemed to enjoy as well.

Max, at least, seemed just as bored by the topic as Ash was rapidly becoming- he loved seeing how excited Brendan got about it and it was so cool to think about, he couldn't wait to actually _see_ a contest, but after spending so much time listening and watching the other boy pick fabrics and stuff, he was just eager to move on from it for a bit. So, when Max turned to his dad, Ash was actually really grateful, well... mostly.

“Dad, this is Alf,”

“Ash.” Ash corrected, but the younger boy bulldozed over him without a thought.

“He was in the Silver Conference- he lost but he's here to challenge you!” The sheer excitement in Max's voice seemed to echo in the room, drowning out Brendan and May's mother's voices, cause the two to quiet and look over. Was that better? Ash really wasn't sure.

“I mean, yeah, I wanted to.” Ash grinned, “Brendan and May said you didn't take trainers without badges though?”

“I'm not taking challengers today since we were waiting for May.” Norman explained, “I only battle trainers with four badges though, it's a gym rule. But we could have an unofficial battle, if you'd like.”

“That would be great!” Ash pumped his fist and Pikachu's cheeks sparked a little in excitement. Finally, even if it wouldn't be an official battle he could get a badge from, Ash could check out what this Gym Leader was made of and really get a feel for battling in Hoenn.

Now they just had to wait for May to show up.

\---> SAVE

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter took me forever and I actually kind of hate it. Ash is hard to write so directly and I feel like I didn't know what to dooo with them. But whatever. It's done @@ 
> 
> It probably didn't help that I was also more focused on beating Pokemon Shield so I can get the DLC tomorrow, which I'm suuuuper hyped for. 
> 
> The next chapter will hopefully cover what's left of this episode and we can bring in Brock! But I finally got to Max! Argh I love this boy so much, he's such a pest here but I'm so so excited to do more with him. 
> 
> So yeah, take this. It's bad, but like. Here you go, I guess? Sorry? Maybe?


End file.
